July 30, 1924 – July 9, 2020
Lorrie Henderson, age 95, died July 9, 2020, in Temple, Texas. Friend, colleague, mentor, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great grandmother, Navy Veteran, she enjoyed life!
Self-described as a red-haired, blue-eyed, freckle-faced girl, Leora "Lorrie" Mae Foster Henderson was born July 30, 1924, St. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Soon afterward, her parents Mae Rosetta Bair Foster and Floyd Percy Foster brought their new baby girl home to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, to join her older brother William Floyd Foster. On April 12, at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Lorrie was christened. On Christmas Day 1927, her younger brother, Arthur Lynn Foster, was born. A short time later, the family packed up and moved to Texas, living in both Abilene and Belton over several years. During that time, her father, Floyd, died in an electrical accident. In September 1930, Mae and the children returned to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where Lorrie grew up. She attended "Town" School and was a member of Camp Fire Girls. In Spring 1942, Lorrie graduated from Mt. Vernon High School. Following family tradition, she attended Cornell College and chose Art as her major. After two years, she moved to New York City, where she lived at the 'Y' and worked for JC Penny as a window dresser. She then joined the Navy WAVES and attended boot camp at the US Naval Station at Hunter College, New York. In 1945 during the last year of World War II, Seaman First Class L. Foster served as a draftsman. When she was stationed at Treasure Island Naval Base in northern California, she met RSM 3/C (USN) C. P. Henderson. After a persuasive whirlwind courtship and promise, "We'll never be rich, but we will have a lot of fun" they married September 15, 1945. Lorrie and C.P. each received an Honorable Discharge from the Navy. February 1946, they moved to Austin, Texas. In December 2000, Lorrie became a widow after 55 years of marriage to C.P.
Lorrie attended the University of Texas, Austin on the G. I. Bill, during which time her children, Charles Timothy and Jane Anne, were born. Twelve years later, in 1964, she completed her B.A. in Psychology, then in 1967 she earned her Master's Degree in Social Work. Lorrie retired in 1986 from the Austin State Hospital Children's Psychiatric Unit, as Director of Social Service. Since retirement Lorrie researched and published family genealogy, including "Genealogy of the Wheat, Foster, McCoy and Connected Families" and "A Beaver Married a Bair." She enjoyed world travel and traveling to visit family and friends. She made a point to attend Family Reunions and Cornell College Class Reunions in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. In recent years, Lorrie enjoyed outings to Arm Chair Travelers meetings, Red Hat Society, and Austin Genealogical Society, where she served on the Board of Directors and as the Corresponding Secretary.
In 2007, Lorrie's daily life was busy with friends and a full schedule of activities at The Clairmont Retirement Community of Austin. Several years later, she moved to Heatherwilde Assisted Living of Pflugerville and then in 2019 to the William R. Courtney Texas Veterans Home in Temple, TX.
Through the years Lorrie has received honors and recognition for her many achievements; including, Life Member of the UT Ex-Students’ Association, 1967; Who's Who in American Women, listed, 1977-86; Who's Who in the South and Southwest, listed, 1980-86; and finally, in 2011, NASW, Lifetime Achievement, MSSW. Fall of 2014, Lorrie joined other WWII veterans on the Austin Honor Flight trip to Washington DC.
Lorrie is survived by her son Charles Timothy Henderson; daughter, Jane Anne Henderson Herrin and granddaughters Lara Janell and husband Joe Allen Raesz; Leigh Anne Herrin Smith and fiancée Josh Robison; Lindsay Marie and husband Jonathan William Walter; Kembra Rose Nichols Herrin; great-grandchildren; her sisters' in-law Frieda Dollar Tipton; Jane Henderson Farmer; many nieces and nephews, the Herrin families, and Sistrunk Family. Besides her parents, Mae Rosetta Bair Foster Starry and Floyd Percy Foster and step-father Edgar Alison Starry; Lorrie was predeceased by her husband, Charles Perry Henderson and his parents Clara Barton Fowler and Albert Wentworth Henderson; and sister in law Anna Sue Henderson Durham; her older brother Rev. William Floyd Foster and his wife Esther Dorothea Swords Foster and younger brother Arthur Lynn Foster.
The family suggests memorial contributions to Cornell College, https://alumni.cornellcollege.edu/giving/cornell-cares or
Cornell College
Office of Advancement
600 First Street SW
Mount Vernon, IA 52314-1098
A Celebration of Life will be on Lorries’ 96th Birthday, Thursday, July 30th. Wherever you are, pause for a moment of silence at 7:30 PM in her remembrance.
Interment will be Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas.
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