Mr. James Gary (“Jimmy”) Henderson Sr. born September 16, 1937, a native of Laurel, Mississippi and a resident of Mobile since 1946, died at his home on March 22nd, 2021. Mr. Henderson was a Boy Scout and at the age of seventeen served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, in an amphibious tractor company stationed on Pinto Island, in Mobile. He also served in the Alabama National Guard with the 711th Signal Battalion, in Mobile and was called up for active duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
Mr. Henderson attended Murphy High School and was a member of Springhill Avenue Baptist Church in Mobile. As a teenager, he was a paperboy for The Mobile Press Register and due to his exemplary work ethic was promoted to Junior District Manager. At the age of seventeen, he worked for Delaney’s as a Plymouth/Desoto auto part salesman. In 1956, at eighteen years of age, he took a job at Alabama Dry Dock & Shipbuilding Company (“ADDSCO”), as a Clerk in Material Accounting, and was later promoted to Supervisor of Material Control. In 1986, he was promoted to the position of Director of Purchasing, a position he held for the final four years of his thirty-four year career with ADDSCO.
Following the closing of ADDSCO in 1989, Mr. Henderson was employed as Purchasing Manager at Alabama Shipyard for 10 years. He subsequently worked as Purchasing Manager for Friede Goldman Offshore in Pascagoula, Mississippi and for three years at Horizon Shipbuilding in Bayou La Batre, Alabama as Purchasing Agent. At the time of his retirement in 2003, Mr. Henderson’s career in the shipbuilding industry spanned forty-seven years.
Mr. Henderson served as Board Member for the Mobile Purchasing Managers Association. He was a lifetime member of Howard Lodge No. 69, F&AM of Mobile, where he served as Worshipful Master in 1971-1972. He was also a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Mobile and the Abba Temple Shire motorcycle corps. He was also a former member of The Raphael Semmes Chapter of The Sons of Confederate Veterans of Mobile.
Since his teenage years, Mr. Henderson was a lover of motorcycles, sports cars and his beloved dogs. He especially enjoyed riding his Harley’s, of which he owned several. However, he was quick to let everyone know that his greatest pride and joy were his two children.
He is preceded in death by his father, James David McKinley, his mother, Ruby Kate Henderson, step-father, Henry Leon Henderson and sister, Judy Henderson Flechas. He is survived by one son, James Gary (Leigh Ann) Henderson Jr of Houston, Texas; one daughter, Shirley Kate (Mike) Stanton of Mobile; three grandsons, Luke (Catherine) Stanton of Fairhope, Alabama, Gary (Ashley) Stanton of Nashville, Tennessee and Joseph Henry Henderson of Houston, Texas and two great grandchildren, Nate and Ellie Stanton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in memory of Jim Henderson to Animal Rescue Foundation 6140 Rangeline Road, Theodore, Alabama 36582.
Celebration of Life services for James Gary Henderson, Sr. will be held Friday, 3/26/2021, 11:00 AM at Pine Crest Funeral Home, Mobile, AL. Interment will immediately follow on the grounds of Pine Crest Cemetery.
The family will receive guests for visitation Friday, 3/26/2021 from 10:00 AM until time of service at 11:00 AM.
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