Dr. Gordon Spencer McHenry, 92, died Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at home. Visitation will be from 9:00am to 11:00am on Friday April 5, 2019 at Parkway Funeral Home followed by an 11:00am Chapel service. Burial will be in Parkway Memorial Cemetery, 1161 Highland Colony Parkway, Ridgeland, Mississippi 39157.
Dr. McHenry was born August 3, 1926 at McHenry, Mississippi, the youngest child of the late Floyd Whitaker and Hazel Benton McHenry. His paternal grandparents, Dr. George Austin and Una Whitaker McHenry, were the founders of the town of McHenry. Maternal grandparents were Joseph Henry and Mary Eunice Jones Benton of Madison and Yazoo counties, Mississippi. Preceding him in death were his brothers, Harold, Wayne, Jack, and George McHenry, and his sister, Dolores McHenry Mauldin.
Mildred Lucille Herlong of Pattison, Mississippi became his wife on August 31,1952, at Central Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi. He is survived by Mildred and by his daughters and their husbands, Cille (Steve) Litchfield, Ivery (Jimmy) Wood and Judy (Bob) Russell, all of Madison, Mississippi. His grandchildren are Chris and Anna Russell of Seattle, Washington, Jordan (Jessica) Wood of Madison, Mississippi, and Emily Wood (Joel) Ainsworth of Hanahan, South Carolina, and by great granddaughters Parker Abigail Wood, Charlotte Layla Ainsworth, and Olivia Hunter Ainsworth, and great grandson, Henry James Wood, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Dr. McHenry spent his early years in the schools of Stone County and graduated from Perkinston High School. After graduation, he served two years in the United States Army during World War II, stationed in the Philippines and Japan. He was a graduate of the University of Mississippi, received his medical degree from Tulane University in 1954, and completed his general internship at the Macon Hospital in Macon, Georgia. Wiggins Clinic, now a division of Hattiesburg Clinic, was his place of Family Practice for thirty-seven years. After retirement from Wiggins Clinic in 1991, he continued his work for the next two years at Stone County Hospital and Pine Grove Center in Hattiesburg. Professional memberships included the American and Mississippi State Medical Associations. He was a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Practice.
Local activities in Wiggins included serving from 1967 to 2000 as a Director of the Bank of Wiggins. He served as a member of the Stone County Economic Foundation which awarded him the honor of “Citizen of the Year” for the year 1997-1998 for his efforts passing a school bond initiative
Gordon and his wife, Mildred, were active members of First Baptist Church of Wiggins where he served as a Deacon. They both served on numerous committees in the church. In 2000, they moved to Madison, Mississippi to be near their daughters and their families. In Madison, they were members of the Parkway Hills United Methodist Church.
The family wishes to thank St. Joseph Hospice and our Home Instead caregivers for their loving care during Dr. Mc’s final days.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the “Bunk Bed Ministry” at Parkway Hills United Methodist Church, P.O. BOX 1721, MADISON, MS 39130-1712.
PALLBEARERS
Vic Watts
Joseph Cliburn
James Wood
Jordan Wood
Robert Russell
Chris Russell
Steve Litchfield
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