Henry Rayhons

Rayhons was born in Garner, Iowa. His father, Henry, Sr. was a farmer and his mother, Agnes, was a homemaker. He grew up in a large family with four brothers and four sisters. Rayhons attended a one-room country school for eight years and graduated from Garner High School in 1954. He did not attend college. Rayhons was first elected in 1996.

Rayhons is a member of the Lion's Club, Iowa Dairy Association, Farm Bureau, Iowa Beef Producers, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association, and the Iowa Taxpayers Association. Prior to his service in the legislature, Rayhons was President of the Hancock County Farm Bureau. Additionally, he was a board member of the Iowa Farm Bureau, 1986–1996, and a Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner.

On December 15, 2007, Rayhons married Donna Young, blending their families after the death of Henry's first wife, Marvalyn. Rayhons has four children, two sons and two daughters; Donna had three daughters. Donna died of Alzheimer's disease on August 8, 2014.^[5] In the same month, Rayhons was charged with felony sexual abuse in relation to a May 2014 incident where he allegedly had sexual contact with his wife at her nursing home; prior to the incident, Donna's daughters had met with nursing home staff, who in turn advised Mr. Rayhons that his wife no longer had the mental capacity to consent to sex.^[5] He was found not guilty at his trial in April 2015.^[6]

*incumbent