(חיים ‘ונתן Chaim Yonatan ben Bajla)
January 1st 1951- May 18th 2020
(23 Tevet 5711 – 24 Iyar 5780)
Henri Jonathan Socha
Henri Jonathan Socha was born in Toronto, Canada to Bella and Simon Socha. Bella and Simon married after they relocated to Canada following WWII. Bella was a Holocaust survivor and Simon was with the Free French Army / Foreign Legion.
Henri spent his childhood reading science fiction, collecting records and learning everything he could about computers. He eventually moved on to study computers at the University of Waterloo, getting a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering which lead to a long career as a computer software developer. You have probably come across a piece of technology that Henri had a hand in programing. Between his time working at Sony, Microsoft, Xbox, HP, Data Point, Dell and more, Henri programed everything from computer games, to factory machines… he did it all. He was even the lead programmer on a Jeopardy Sony computer game, his favorite TV show!
Henri, 1970
Although Henri was always incredibly proud of the work that he did in the world of programing, nothing made him prouder then his family. Henri moved from Toronto to San Antonio, Texas in 1975 where he met his wife of almost 42 years, Klava. During their time together in Texas, they gave birth to two sons, Isaac and David. In 1985 Henri moved his family to the Monterey Bay area to be closer to family. In 2005, Henri and Klava moved to Redmond, WA for a job opportunity Henri received with Microsoft. Despite his busy work schedule, Henri made sure that he was a present and devoted grandfather traveling to Portland and Philadelphia to spend as much time as he could with his granddaughters.
After a short and aggressive battle with cancer, Henri passed at the Evergreen Hospice facility in Kirkland, WA with his wife and sons by his side.
Henri is survived by his loving family, wife, Klava, sons Isaac (Christina) and David (Rachael), brother Michel (Rhoda), granddaughters Amaya, Madison, Peyton and Mirabelle, as well as countless family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, you can make a donation in Henri’s honor, to Girls Who Code, an organization that has a commitment to bettering the world of programing by bringing girls and women into the heavily male dominated field, something that Henri was very passionate about as a Zeyde to 4 granddaughters.
You can see Henri’s Resume HERE (opens in PDF)