Amelia Rojas Rojas Henderson

When Amelia Rojas Henderson walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Amelia was and how she impacted those around her. Amelia was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Amelia wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Amelia was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

She was the daughter of Juan and Amelia Rojas. Amelia was raised in El Paso, TX. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. While some who knew Amelia might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Amelia was always in pursuit of life’s endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

Amelia was raised with six brothers and sisters. She had a sister, Isela Garcia; brother, Juan Rojas (deceased); sister, Maria Magdalena Ortiz (deceased); brother, Hector Rojas; brother, George Rojas; and her younger sister Veronica Ybarra. Amelia was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Amelia was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. These traits served Amelia well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

As a young girl, Amelia was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Amelia was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. Amelia took part in school physical education activities. She was a member of International Youth S. C. O. P. E.; Year Book, El Capitan Committee Member of Thomas Jefferson High School; and her high school newspaper, The Branding Iron. In her spare time she liked sewing, cooking, and attended dancing school. Amelia had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity she and the many childhood friends she shared might discover.

During her high school years, Amelia responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, El Paso, Texas in 1964. Amelia was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses. Amelia absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using her imagination to master her assignments. For Amelia, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Amelia a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything. Her favorite class in high school was home making. The teacher she enjoyed learning from the most was Mr. Jennings, her history teacher. Amelia was on the Thomas Jefferson Dance Team and a School Hostess.

With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Amelia was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Amelia was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends. While growing up, some of her best friends were Mary Martiniz, Norma Aguirre, and Teresa Lopez. Later in life, her best friends were Cheryl Sellers, Virginia Bertholf, Margaret Meade, and Rhonda Heflin.

Amelia's skill at “building bridges” played an important role in her ability to make her new family happy. She was quite sensitive towards Willie's needs, showing her constant concern and fondness. Amelia was tenderhearted and sensitive, qualities that served her well in helping to nurture her family.

Amelia was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Amelia, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Henderson home. Amelia's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Amelia was blessed with three children.: Daughter, Lisa Henderson; son, Willie Henderson, Jr., and son, Michael Henderson (deceased). They were also blessed with three grandsons, Patrick Dent, Michael Dent, and Willie Henderson, III, and one great granddaughter, Londyn Skyee Marie Henderson.

Amelia was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life’s possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was beauty shop owner and beautician. She owned and operated her own Beauty Shop, Hairtique, for 30 years. Amelia was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Amelia had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Amelia's fellow beauticians saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

Because Amelia loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were gardening, arts and crafts, and sewing. Amelia had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Amelia's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

Amelia derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. Recreational sports included bowling and fishing. Amelia was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were the Dallas Cowboys and the Texas Rangers (when they were winning).

Throughout her life, Amelia was actively involved in professional and community organizations. She was compassionate, accommodating and quick to move into action. Always able to build a consensus, Amelia seemed to be the person smack dab in the middle of things, working to get things done. Those who had the opportunity to work with Amelia usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine. Throughout her later years, Amelia was an active member of the Eastern Star, serving as Worthy Matron, and theHaltom City Lions Club, serving as Vice President.

Amelia's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Her favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Amelia took her vacations seriously, well, as seriously as she possibly could. Favorite vacations included Hawaii, a road trip through Mexico to Acapulco,the Florida Keys, trips to New Orleans, New York City, Niagra Falls, Chicago, Mount Rushmore, Yosemite National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.

Amelia was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Mickey Blue Eyes (Chacho for short), a Blue Merle Minature Australian Shepherd., was a best friend for 6 years.

When Amelia's retirement finally came in 2010, Amelia handled it the way she usually did. She adapted and, like everything in her life, made it satisfying. Because she was such a flexible person and able to adjust to any situation, retirement was just another enjoyable change of pace for Amelia to master. She retired in her long time family hometown, Fort Worth, Texas. In retirement, she found pleasure in gardening, liviing life in general, her GRANDSONS and GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER, family gatherings, spending time outdoors, camping, fishing, boating, casino trips, motor cycle riding, and RV trips across the country. Even in retirement, Amelia continued to stay in touch with her old friends and like always, made plenty of new ones.

Amelia Henderson passed away on March 4, 2017 at her home in Haltom City, Texas. After Amelia fought a brave battle that lasted a year and a half, she finally sucumbed to cancer. She is survived by her loving husband of fifty years, Willie V. Henderson; her daughter, Lisa Henderson; her son Willie Henderson, Jr.; her mother, Amelia Rojas; her father, Juan Rojas; her sister, Isela Garcia; her brother, Hector Rojas; her brother, George Rojas; her sister, Veronica Ybarra; her grandsons, Patrick, Michael, and Willie, III; her great granddaughter, Londyn Skyee Marie; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Services were held at Shannon Rufe Snow Funeral Chapel in Fort Worth, Texas.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Amelia. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Amelia Henderson for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Amelia was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.