Thomas C. Henderson's Obituary
Thomas C. Henderson was born in Greenbrier, Arkansas on August 12, 1924. He passed away on March 14, 2016 in Tucson, Arizona. He is survived by his wife Norma of 68 years, son Thomas E. Henderson and daughters Denise Haefner-Henderson and Kelsey Henderson. He has six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Thomas C. Henderson enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in August, 1942 and served 30 months in the Pacific during World War II. He saw combat at Guadalcanal, Bougainville and other islands in the Solomon Islands chain. He also volunteered for solo reconnaissance operations on various enemy-held islands. He was honorably discharged in November, 1945.
He completed apprenticeship as a steamfitter after the war and moved with his family to Tucson, Arizona in 1953 where he joined Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 469. He was a lifelong member of the union. He worked on numerous major construction projects over the years, most of them as a supervisor. Thomas was also an instructor in the union apprenticeship program for many years.
He retired in 1986 and enjoyed woodworking, lapidary, stained glass work, metal working and visits from family with his wife Norma in the home that they built themselves and moved into in 1961.
There will be a visitation on Sunday, March 20 from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Mortuary Chapel at 3015 N. Oracle Road, Tucson, Arizona 85705. The U.S. Marine Corps will conduct an honor guard flag ceremony at 1:45 p.m.
In lieu of sending flowers, the family requests that contributions be sent to Casa de la Luz Hospice. These people were wonderful in caring for our father in his last days. The contact is:
Casa del la Luz
7740 N. Oracle Road
Tucson, Arizona 85704
520-544-9890
www.casahospice.com
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