ASHLAND David Bruce Henderson, age 94, passed away on Thursday, April 29, 2010, after a short illness. He was the son of John Wesley Henderson and Sue Maclin Henderson, and brother to Jack Henderson, Myra Henderson Wagner, Margaret Henderson Cram, Austin Henderson, William Henderson and Frank Henderson, all of whom pre-deceased him. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Cox Henderson, their son, Mark Henderson (Tiffany), and grandchildren, Molly, Sean, Ryan, Liam and Rhys, the five of whom were the joy of his later years, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
A life-long resident of Ashland, KY, born before entry of the United States in World War I, he survived a bout of the Spanish flu in 1918, the Great Depression and World War II. He played football for the Ashland Tomcats, boxed in the Golden Gloves and attended both Morehead and Marshall Universities. Prior to the outbreak of World War II, he worked at Ashland Oil in the chemical lab. In the summer of 1941, he volunteered, along with his brother Frank and several friends, for the Army Air Corps. After Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to the 95th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force, where he was head of their photographic intelligence section, at the rank of captain. He flew nine missions in B-17s over occupied Europe. A photograph of his parents, their mantle containing pictures of their four sons who went to war, is reproduced on the flood-wall across from the train station in Ashland. Like most of his generation, he never talked much of the War, but his contributions and those of his family speak for themselves. After the War, he worked again at Ashland Oil, then started a wholesale produce business in Huntington, WV.
In 1960, he began Bob's Salads of Kentucky, Inc., located at the former Federal Ice Plant on Central Avenue in Ashland, which property he purchased along with the late F.S. "Bud" Crawford and Donald Putnam. He successfully ran that business, employing many fine people, until he sold it upon his retirement in 1982. Following his retirement he and Ruth traveled far and wide enjoying life and each others company, and spending time at their winter home in Venice, FL. He loved the outdoors, enjoying fishing, boating and hunting, and played tennis for most of his life on a regular basis until he was no longer able. He was humble, honest, generous and forthright, and had a wonderful wit. He was a fan of U.K. basketball, and listened to the Cats on the radio, when they were not televised. He was a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church in Ashland. He was also a Kentucky Colonel, a member of the American Legion, the Elk's Club, the Bellefonte Country Club and the Roadrunner's Club.
Thanks to Charles Rhodes, M.D., of Ashland, his cardiologist, whose care allowed him many more years of active life than he otherwise would have had, during which he was able to get to know his grandchildren and enjoy his remaining time to the fullest. Thanks also to the staff of Kings Daughters Medical Center HVIU, including Ona, Luda, Mary, Jo and Fay, and Timothy Hart, M.D., who provided nearly two weeks of excellent care for him, and to everyone at Community Hospice in Ashland, who gave him gentle comfort in his final days. Donations in his name will be appreciated to Community Hospice, an organization made up of angels on Earth.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Steen Funeral Home-Central Avenue Chapel by the Rev. Gene Pillow and the Rev. Don Young. Burial will be in Ashland Cemetery with military rites.
Friends may call from an hour before services at the funeral home.
Walk a little slower, Daddy, Said a little child so small. I'm following in your footsteps And I don't want to fall. Sometimes your steps are very fast, Sometimes they are hard to see; So, walk a little slower, Daddy, For you are leading me. Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be; Then I will have a little child Who'll want to follow me. And I would want to lead just right, And know that I was true; So walk a little slower, Daddy, For I must follow you.
