Donald Ardell Henderson, 91, Prescott Valley, Ariz.
Obituaries · October 02, 2014
Donald Ardell Henderson, age 91, beloved husband, father, brother and grandfather, passed away on September 28, 2014.
He was born July 27, 1923, to Lloyd Israel and Jesse Ardith Negus Henderson in West Branch, Iowa. He was the oldest of three children.
Don grew up on the Prairie Dale Farm north of West Branch and after graduating from West Branch High School he spent two years at Iowa State College and graduated with a two-year degree in agriculture. It was there that he met his future wife, Avis Corinne Fuller of Batavia, N.Y. Immediately after his graduation, he was drafted into the Navy Seabees, where he served in the South Pacific during World War II. On his return from the service, he married Avis on Nov. 8, 1945, in Pasadena, Calif., and began raising his family of four children.
He farmed with his father, Lloyd, for several years, after which he moved his family to Coralville, Iowa, and later to Long Beach, Calif. Throughout his life, he worked as a heavy equipment operator, a builder, a maintenance engineer and a woodworking artisan.
Don and Avis retired to Victorville, Calif., then Prescott Valley, Ariz. During their retirement, they enjoyed square dancing and were proud to serve four missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which included working with the Navajo people in Arizona, at the Church Employment Office in Victorville, Calif., at historical sites in Nauvoo, Ill. and on a walnut farm in West Sacramento, Calif.
Don is survived by his wife, Avis; children Douglas Lloyd of Honolulu, Hawaii, Donna Celeste Hallatt of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., and Glenda Kay Galbraith (Kim) of Sandy, Utah; and sister Gwendolyn Dahlberg of Des Moines, Iowa. Don and Avis have 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Preceding him in death were his parents; his infant brother, Glen Dale; his infant daughter, Claudia Dee; and his son, Orrin LaVerne.
Services will be held at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary in Murray, Utah, on Wednesday Oct. 1. Graveside services will be held at West Branch Cemetery on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, at 3 p.m.
Special thanks go to The Wellington staff for their genuine and attentive care during Don’s final days.
Condolences may be shared at www.jenkins-soffe.com.
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