Margaret Hutchens Henson, an eighth-generation Huntsvillian and active community leader died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of January 18, 2018. She was 94 years old.
Born Margaret Elizabeth Hutchens on October 3, 1923, she was the third child of Morton M. Hutchens and Susie Withers Newman Hutchens. She was educated initially at home by her grandmother, Ellen White Newman, and thereafter attended Huntsville public schools and graduated from Huntsville High School. After her freshman year at the University of Alabama, she became engaged to and married William Gerome Henson on March 3, 1944.
After World War II, Margaret and Bill Henson settled in Huntsville where, except for a brief residency in Louisville, Kentucky, they lived their entire lives, principally at 609 Adams Street, the family home of Margaret’s Newman ancestors.
Margaret was a direct descendant of many of the founding families of Alabama and Huntsville and, as such, was the recipient of the oral history of the community’s rich past. In the late 1960’s she put her knowledge into the service of the community when Bessie Russell drafted her, initially as a volunteer, then as a member of the staff in the Huntsville Heritage Room of the Huntsville Public Library. Margaret became an enthusiastic researcher of local history and genealogy and over the next 25 years cheerfully assisted many patrons in their own researches, as she helped develop the library’s collection into a valuable regional resource.
Her wide range of cultural interests led Margaret to make other significant contributions to her community. Chief among these was her role as a founder of Randolph School, as a long-time member of its board of directors and as a director emeritus. She was involved in a number of civic and philanthropic organizations. Ever a tireless supporter of and fundraiser for the library, she was also an active supporter of the Huntsville Symphony, the Huntsville Ballet, the Twickenham Association, the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Weeden House and the Huntsville Historical Society. A lifelong Episcopalian, she attended the Church of the Nativity and served for many years as president of its Altar Guild.
Known as a gracious and generous hostess, Margaret was a lively participant in the social life of Huntsville. An early member of the Mooreland Hunt, she was an avid foxhunter and remained socially active with the hunt long after she and her beloved hunter Trailsman had retired from riding. She was a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Alabama and served in various official roles in the local and state chapters. She was active in the Huntsville Garden Club, the Huntsville Grace Club Auxiliary, later the Huntsville Junior League, the Study Circle and the Antiquarian Society. Perhaps most indicative of the delightful loyalty that she and her friends enjoyed socially was her membership in the J.U.G.’s (Just Us Girls), a club organized by Margaret and eleven of her classmates at Huntsville High School in 1939. After graduation, the group met under the somewhat misleading name of the “Sewing Club” for a lively luncheon on Thursdays at least once a month until 2010.
Margaret Hutchens Henson was preceded in death by her husband William Gerome Henson, her sisters Eleanor Newman Hutchens and Sue Withers Hutchens Henson, her brother William Thomas Hutchens, II, and a niece, Florence Henson Blackwood, a daughter of her sister Sue. She is survived her daughter Marnie Henson Hogan, Marnie’s husband Lee W. Hogan, her son Willard Hutchens Henson, Willard’s partner Steve R. Thompson; Marnie and Lee’s sons Wyatt LeClercq Hogan and Brett Williams Hogan, Wyatt’s wife Elizabeth, their daughters Anna, Alice and Ellen, Brett’s wife Margot, their sons Henry and August and daughter Margaret; Willard’s son Withers Powell Henson, his wife Hanna and their daughter Willa; and, Steve Thompson’s daughter Stephany. Margaret is also survived by nieces Susan Henson Frost and Ellen Henson Rogers, daughters of her sister Sue, and Nanette Flournoy Hutchens and Hollis Hutchens Volk, daughters of her brother William, as well as many loving great and great-great nieces and nephews. Margaret is also survived by her devoted companion and caregiver Ruby Conley, to whom the entire family owes its deepest gratitude.
Following a private interment at Maple Hill Cemetery, a memorial service will be held at the Church of the Nativity, Huntsville, AL on Monday, January 29 at 1:00 p.m., the Reverend Virginia Monroe officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made to Randolph School, the Church of the Nativity, or the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library.
