Henry Tourner Asher
Quick Facts
Biography
Henry Tourner Asher (June 30, 1890 – March 5, 1963) was a founder of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. In The Story of Kappa Alpha Psi, the primary book of history for the fraternity, Asher is said to have been "an untiring civic, community and religious worker," and was actively involved in many community service organizations.
Biography
Asher was born in Woodburn, Kentucky in 1892. He moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and attended Bloomington High School, graduating in 1910.
Asher enrolled in Indiana University Bloomington, where he met Elder Watson Diggs. Asher and the other founders of Kappa Alpha Psi officially formed the fraternity on January 5, 1911. Asher stayed active with the fraternity, becoming an early member of the Detroit Alumni chapter (circa 1920) and attending Grand Chapter Meetings.
In June 1914, Asher graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree. He served as a teacher for one year at the Lincoln Institute (now Lincoln University of Missouri) in Jefferson City, Missouri. Asher, in 1915, enrolled in graduate school at the University of Illinois. He later enrolled at the University of Minnesota, and graduated from there in 1917 with a Master of Arts degree. In 1928, he received a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from the Detroit College of Law.
During his life, Asher was a member of several community service organizations, such as the local YMCA, NAACP, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He served as a teacher, as well as an official of his church.
Asher died on March 5, 1963 at the Veterans Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Among those who attended his funeral was Ezra Dee Alexander. He was buried in Warren, Michigan.