HENRY ADRIAN SCHADE attended the St. Paul public schools and in 1919 was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy from which he was graduated with distinction in 1923. Following two years at sea, he was selected for the Construction Corps of the U.S. Navy and sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for further education in naval architecture. 

Packy's own specialty was ship structures, and in this field he was preeminent. His reputation attracted to the department others in the field who wanted to spend a sabbatical year with him. Because of his interest in structures, Packy always maintained a close relationship with the Structures Group in the Department of Civil Engineering. As one might expect, his accomplishments have not gone without official recognition. In 1964 he was awarded the David W. Taylor Medal of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) and in 1971 the Gibbs Brothers Medal of the National Academy of Sciences. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1973. He has also served on important committees of SNAME and served as a member of its Council for many years. He has been a guest professor at both the Istanbul Technical University and the Technical University in Berlin. From the latter he received the degree Dr. Ing. honoris causa in 1972.