William Albert Henson

William “Bill” Albert Henson, 80, passed away peaceful at home with family on March 16, 2026. Bill was born on May 2, 1945 in Alton, Illinois. His parents, Joseph and Helen Henson and one sister Patricia Gross preceded him in death.

Bill graduated from Alton High School in 1963 and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Ill. In 1972 He received his Master’s Degree in Business Administration in 1978 from University of Illinois, Springfield.

Bill was a US Air Force Veteran who served from 1965 to 1969 and received an honorable discharge as a Sargent. He worked for the Illinois Department of Revenue and he started in internal auditing, Bill audited the new Illinois State Lottery. He worked 9 years in internal auditing and worked his way up in the department to Bureau Manager of Return and Deposit Operations. This included operations in Springfield and Chicago and he held this position for 17 years until retirement in 2002, a total of 30 years.

Bill enjoyed traveling with his wife and sons, he would take his 2 weeks vacation every year. He packed up the car and with his 2 boys and wife and he traveled to every state in the US including Alaska and Hawaii. Later on he enjoyed cruising everywhere in the Caribbean. He also enjoyed gardening, barbecuing, playing cards and cooking.

In high school he belonged to The Nature Boys club which was a select group of 21 friends. They took trips to Canada and to this day remain friends and in contact with each other.

Bill is survived by his wife, Jill (Heiens) Henson, two sons: Timothy, wife Diane and Bryan, wife Jill, 5 grandchildren: Courtney (Henson) Winter, husband Clint, Alec Henson, Cole Henson, Luke Henson, and Reed Henson, two great grandchildren: Cassian and Colette Winter, one sister-in-law, Jan Heiens who was a travel companion with Bill and his wife. He was close to his 2 nieces: Stacy Wagonblast, husband, Greg, of Brighton, Ill and Lisa Gilman, husband Larry, of Austin, Texas.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00pm on Friday March 20, 2026 at Bisch Funeral Home West, 2931 Koke Mil Road. The family will greet friends from 11:00am until the time of service Friday at Bisch West. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association and condolences may be left at www.bischfuneralhomewest.com.