Connie Henson

Felicitas Consuelo Henson, known as Connie to her large loving family and many friends, died with her family by her side in Ontario on September 9, 2015 after a long struggle with lung disease. She was 73 years old.

Connie was born in Wilmington, California on January 8, 1942, where she graduated from Banning High School. On what was without a doubt the happiest day of her life, she married Wendell Henson, known to family and friends as Wen, on her birthday in 1971, the beginning of a loving marriage that brought her strength and joy throughout the rest of her life. The following year, she gave birth to their daughter Wendy, who joined her brothers, James Henson, from Connie’s previous marriage, and Kerry Henson and Gary Henson, from Wen’s previous marriage. Connie is survived by Wen and her children and their spouses: her favorite son-in-law Jason Paar, Kerry’s wife Julia Henson, Jim’s wife Kathy Grant, and Gary’s wife Trisha Henson. She will be missed by her grandchildren: Andrew and Alyssa Paar; Jacquelyn and Jonathan Henson; and Katie, Ryan, Christopher, and Tori Henson.

Connie was the sixth of the nine children of Ygnacio and Consuelo Garibay, and she provided her extended family with love, comfort, and advice through years of visits, travel, and hours on the phone with them. She tended closely to both of her parents in the final years of their lives, and along with Wen provided heroic and compassionate care to her eldest sister Evangelina during the terrible bout with cancer that ended her life. To the second generation of American-born Garibay grandchildren, she was the caring and ever-present Auntie Wewa, a childhood nickname that stuck with her as a grown-up.

While Connie’s first and foremost focus was always Wen and the family they had built together, Connie’s love of people and socializing found her in a series of jobs helping people throughout most of her life. She will be best remembered by many people for her work as a travel agent, which she took up in 1987. Her work as an agent specializing in cruises led to years of exciting travel with Wen even into their retirement, and together they flew, cruised, and bussed to almost every continent, including several trips that took them to every corner of Europe as well as excursions to China, India, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, and South Africa, to name just a few. She and Wen missed their grandchildren during their globe trotting, but saw things during their travels far beyond the wildest dreams of “two kids from Wilmington,” as they would say. Through all of this, though, Connie kept in close touch with her sisters and brothers, and rarely missed birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions. She always enjoyed returning home to the house in which she and Wen raised their family, and her lovingly tended backyard, lush with the plants she nurtured, many of them for years -- just as she nurtured so much and so many during her life.

A gathering in which family and friends can share and celebrate their memories of Connie Henson will be held Friday, September 18 at 10 A.M. at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, located at 2161 Fullerton Road in Roland Heights, California. A memorial mass will begin at 12:30 PM in the chapel at the same location, followed immediately by a reception. In lieu of flowers, donations in the memory of Consuelo Henson may be made to the American Lung Association at http://www.lung.org/donate/ or by mail to: The American Lung Association, 55 W. Wacker Drive, Suite 1150, Chicago, IL 60601