Bogert, Henry Lawrence III (1938–2025)

1938–2025

Parents: Henry Lawrence Bogert Jr. (1911-1992) and Margaret Milbank (1914–2002).
Spouse: (1) Bridget Lee Cunningham (1943–1999), married June 5, 1965; (2) Eleanor Perine Wheeler (1940–2021), married 1991.
Children: Hilary Bogert (1967– ) and Cyrena Bogert (1968– ) .
Kinship: Fourth cousin three times removed of the post–World War II Smith generation.

Early Life and Education

Henry Lawrence Bogert —known as Larry—was born in New York City on July 11, 1938, the elder son of investment banker H. Lawrence Bogert Jr. and Margaret Milbank Bogert. He grew up in Manhattan and on Fishers Island, New York.

He attended The Buckley School, where he was noted as a champion gymnast who held the school’s hand-walking record for three years, and then St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. He entered Yale University, following a family tradition that extended through three generations, and graduated with the Class of 1960. At Yale he played varsity lacrosse, continuing his strong interest in athletics.

Career

After Yale, Bogert entered finance, beginning at Spencer Trask & Co., moving to Shearson Lehman American Express, and later joining Wellington Shields & Co., where he spent the remainder of his professional life as an investment adviser. Colleagues and clients remembered him for his attentiveness and discretion, qualities that reflected the professional ethic of the Bogert family’s long involvement with New York’s legal and financial institutions.

Personal Life

Bogert married Eleanor (Peri) Wheeler, with whom he shared three decades of marriage until her death in 2021. They lived primarily in Southampton and Water Mill, New York, near Mecox Bay, where Bogert was deeply involved in community and recreational life. A lifelong sailor and tennis player, he was known on Fishers Island for spearfishing and competing in bullseye sailing races. Friends remembered his conviviality, love of dancing, and attachment to the sea.

Death and Legacy

Henry Lawrence Bogert III died on March 14, 2025, after a brief illness, surrounded by his daughters and granddaughters. He was survived by his brother Jeremiah M. Bogert, his daughters Hilary Bogert McKown and Cyrena Bogert Fink, and granddaughters Brigitte, Chloé, and Charlotte Fink. Burial was private, and a memorial service was planned for spring 2024.

Assessment

Henry Lawrence Bogert III embodied the modern continuation of a New York family distinguished in law, finance, and civic service since the early nineteenth century. His combination of professional integrity, athletic vigor, and sociable charm linked the city’s historical Dutch-English patriciate to the contemporary financial world.