John Wesley Henderson, Jr.

August 13, 2018

John Wesley Henderson, Jr. was born July 10, 1929, to John Wesley Henderson and Grace Ida Bray Henderson, in Trenton, New Jersey.

He was preceded in death by his parents;  aunt Dorothy (Dot) Henderson; brother, Robert Henderson; his beloved wife, Vivian Annie Henderson; along with his brothers-in-law, Charlie Heath, Johnny Bunn, H.C. Miller, Jimmy Miller and Robert Pate; and his sisters-in-law, Edith Heath, Sarah Bunn, Evelyn Clifford and Katherine Pate.

John, or Jack as he was known to many, is survived by his children, John Steven (Vicky) Henderson and Darlene Henderson; grandchildren, DeAnne Henderson, Brandy Henderson, Wesley Henderson, and Josh Thibault; his great-grandchildren, Sierra, Kobe, Olivia, Gabrielle, Gage, Courtney and Dillon. Jack is also survived by his sisters, Evelyn Pae and Peg Henderson-Mills; and brother, Charles Henderson, along with countless nieces and nephews.

After the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Jack made the decision to join the Navy. At age seventeen and after lying about his age, Jack joined the Navy. The Navy brought him to Pensacola where he met his lifelong friend Vance Hawks. Vance talked Jack into going on a blind date with his girlfriend’s sister, and he met the love of his life, Vivian Annie Miller, or Ann as she was better known. After that first date in January the two were married in December. The Navy took them many places, California, Virginia, and Rhode Island. They made countless friends along the way and had many adventures. While they were happy something was missing in their lives, unable to have children of their own they adopted their son, Steven. When Jack retired from the Navy in 1966 as a Senior Chief Petty Officer, the Henderson family found themselves in Brewton, Alabama, where Jack began his career with AT&T. Out of the Navy and more settled the Henderson family grew when they adopted their daughter, Darlene. Jack did well with AT&T and he moved up the ladder. In 1970 his job took him and his family to Atlanta. Jack made very special friends working with AT&T and retired in 1986 as an Engineering Associate.

Retired for the second time at age 57, Jack decided it was time to go back to Florida. Their children grown, they retired to Milton, Florida. Not being one to rest on his laurels, the twice retired Jack kept working. He roofed houses, he drove a school bus and found great joy working delivering flowers for the Open Rose Florist in Milton.

Jack was an outdoorsman. He loved camping, fishing and boating. His family has many great memories of camping trips and fishing. He could throw a cast net with the best of them. He also tried his hand, successfully, at crabbing, shrimping, and scalloping. Camping was more than a hobby, it was a way of life. Through camping, the Henderson family made lifelong friends with the Thompsons, Jimmie, Martha and Susan. While Jack enjoyed the outdoors, he was never a hunter. It may have been that snipe hunt his brother-in-law Charlie sent him on that curbed the desire to hunt.

The phrase “Jack of all Trades” applied to Jack Henderson in every sense. There was little he could not do. In Jack’s family the standard was, “If Jack can’t fix it you might as well throw it away.” From working on cars to building a television and other electronic gadgets, Jack could do anything.

He was not a man of many words but when Jack spoke you should probably listen. He was wise man always happy to share his knowledge. He was honored as Instructor of the Year at one duty station in the Navy. That love of teaching carried over to his family where he taught everything from spotting constellations to how to maintain a car. He passed on his love of motors and cars to his son Steven and made sure Darlene could also care for her own vehicles. He could cook. Oh could he cook. Christmases will not be the same without his cookies or his Christmas pastry wreaths. Jack’s pineapple-orange sherbet ice cream was legendary. He could even sew. Many were convinced that Jack hung the moon.
The most important thing he taught his family was how to love. When his wife Ann was diagnosed with cancer, Jack became a caretaker. His life was taking care of his beloved Ann. He tended to her every need and did everything in his power to keep her as comfortable as possible until she passed away, with him by her side, in May 2002. After Ann passed away, Jack’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought him more joy than they will ever know and he was proud of each of them.

There was one thing that Jack could not fix, cancer. It had taken his cherished wife and in 2013 it came for him. It was slow. Jack was tough and he fought it. He almost had it licked, but in 2017, it came back and came back with a vengeance. Jack did not give up, he continued to fight. The fight finally, got to be too much. Saturday, August, 11, 2018, shortly before noon, Jack went home to be reunited with all of those loved ones who had gone before.

Jack will be sorely missed by many. His family invites you to share in the celebration of his life at Faith Chapel North on Wednesday, August 15, 2018, at 11 a.m. with interment to follow at Barrancas National Cemetery at 1 p.m. The family will be receiving visitors at Faith Chapel North on Tuesday, August 14, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Covenant Hospice, in appreciation of the wonderful care they took not only of Jack but his family in his last days or to the American Legion or the USO.

Pall bearers will be Aaron Beasley, Wesley Henderson, David Levan, Jonathan Levan, Dennis Mitchell and Pat Sawyer.

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Written by Jane · Filed Under Obituaries