Marianne Henderson

Born Marianne Henderson August 3rd, 1949 to Freda and Vernon Henderson, two brothers deceased prior. Married Victor T. Parr May 2nd, 1970 and had two children; Teresa Lyn Parr and Travis Arlyn Parr. Married Jerry W. Divis July 24th, 1982 and had Jesse Monroe Divis.

Worked at TWA in Chicago, Illinois, nine years at Stearn’s Co as Purchasing Manager in Seattle, WA then was “Grandmother” when she owned Grandmother’s House in Lynnwood, WA for 16 years during which time she was crashed into by an uninsured drunk driver and crippled for life. Though it took 20 years to pay her medical bills from the wreck, the drunk driver paid nothing.

That made her new ‘mission’ become anti-drunk driving and making others aware of the hazards it entails. She got the vehicular assault law made tougher in Washington after the drunk driver served the maximum sentence for what he did to her of only 6 months in jail while she essentially got a “life sentence.” She’s gotten changes made for disabled people to get around easier in their daily lives, because it’s hard enough just being crippled. The City of Lynnwood lowered all their street crosswalk buttons at her urging, the Snohomish County courthouse is being made disabled user-friendly, she was Co-chairperson of the DART riders Council for years (the disabled bus service she now had to ride for her transportation), she was on the DWI Victim’s panel that gives talks to persons convicted of drunk driving, and a few years ago she got mad at MADD when instead of sending the requested antennae ribbons to give to the customers at her shop, they flooded her mailbox with donation requests! It was then that she remembered a Sunday school lesson about how one person can make a difference, so she wrote the words and had a sign made for the front of her scooter basket that reads:

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU TOO!

An uninsured drunk driver crashed into me on 12/16/1990.

PLEASE think BEFORE you drink

And always drive STONE-COLD-Sober! ©