Donald L Henson
July 18, 1943 – March 10, 2018
A service will be held at Westwood United Methodist Church, 538 Nichols Rd., Kalamazoo, MI 49006, on Thursday, March 22, 2018, beginning at 3:00 PM.
Obituary
Age 74, passed away on Saturday, March 10, 2018. Don was born in Kennett, Missouri on July 18, 1943, the son of the late Bernard Lee and Virginia (McDonald) Henson. He lived in Hayti, Missouri until age 12 when his family moved to St. Joseph, Michigan. Don graduated from St. Joseph High School and later earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Michigan University. Don retired from Kalamazoo Public Schools after teaching for 32 years at Hillside Middle School. On August 19, 1967, he was united in marriage to Beverly J. (Bingham) Henson, who survives. He is also survived by his sons, Gregory and Jonathan Henson; grandson, Darren Dowell; brother William “Edward” Henson; sister-in-law, Carol Ramsey; nieces and nephews, Ryan and Alex Henson, Debbie (Mike) Coyle, Sue Dunn and Bob Spierling; former sister-in-law, Tessa Sapaula; special cousin, Linda (Al) Fitz and several other cousins.
Mr. Henson was my favorite teacher at Hillside many, many years ago. He was a great teacher but most importantly he was so kind. I knew he cared about me as a student and as a person. My children both remember Mr. Henson as well and have fond memories of his teaching them at Hillside. And then years down the road I married a teacher that Don started teaching with (Ron Klein) and found out that Bev and I were school secretaries for KPS at the same time. What a small world! With deepest sympathy to your entire family, Terra Klein
I’m so sorry to hear of Mr. Henson’s passing. He was my 7th grade Social Studies teacher at Hillside back in 1974. What a great smile he had! He always had a good joke to share. He really cared about all of us in his classes–I’ll always remember that. And he was also one of the best-dressed teachers in the school! Mr. Henson, you will be missed. With all my sympathy to your family, Diane Morrison
So sad to hear of Don’s passing. When we worked together at Hillside, Don’s wry sense of humor and knowing smile made the work more enjoyable. Condolences to Bev and the family.
Mr. Henson was our Department Head for Social Studies when I joined Hillside back in 1989. He was very helpful with helping me adjust to Middle School Social Studies. Thank YOU Don,,, Thank You Henson family for sharing him with us here at Hillside for all those years.
At Christmas time, I always remember Mr. Henson with great fondness. He was one of my favorite teachers at Hillside. He had his hands full with me and my sister in his class at the same time, and with our incorrigible friends creating all kinds of mischief. One year, near Christmas time, we made up our own entire song dedicated to Mr. Henson – to the tune of Handl’s Messiah: “Mr. Henson! Mr. Henson!….oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Mr. Heeennson. Mr. Henson! Mr. Henson!” To this day, I cannot hear the Hallelujah Chorus without pausing to smile and remember Mr. Henson and send up a prayer of gratitude for his wonderful sense of humor and kindness, and his intrepid commitment to teaching our mischievious lot.