James Alvin Henderson went to be with the Lord on January 28, 2021, after a long and blessed life. He was 92 years old. He had developed several serious health problems in recent years. He acquired COVID-19 a week or so ago, which proved too much to overcome.
Mr. Henderson was born in Clinton, Tennessee, on January 2, 1929. After graduation from Clinton High School in 1946, he attended the University of Tennessee on a Navy V-5 scholarship. In 1948 he entered active duty with the Navy in Pensacola, Florida. He was honorably discharged from the Navy and returned to UT in 1949 where he received a BS degree in agricultural engineering in 1951. Following graduation, he was employed by the Savanna District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and assigned to the Clark Hill Dam Construction Office near Augusta, Georgia. In 1955 he was assigned to the Kings Bay Army Terminal in St. Mary’s, Georgia. This installation later became the Navy’s East Coast Trident Base. In 1957 he was assigned to the Hartwell Dam Construction Office near Anderson, South Carolina. During this assignment he received professional registration as a civil engineer in the state of Georgia.
In 1963 Mr. Henderson transferred to the Mobile District of the Corps of Engineers and was assigned to the construction office for NASA’s Apollo Program rocket testing facility in Gainesville, Mississippi. At the completion of this project in 1966 he was assigned to the Anti-ballistic Missile Cadre in the Mobile, Alabama, district office. In late 1967 this cadre was relocated to Huntsville, Alabama, where it became the Huntsville Division of the Corps of Engineers with the dedicated mission of supporting deployment of the Army’s Anti-Ballistic Missile System. After moving to Huntsville, Mr. Henderson enrolled in a night study program of Alabama A&M University, where he received an MBA degree in 1971.
Over the next 25 years the mission of the Corp’s Huntsville Division grew to include many engineering and construction programs of national importance, including the Army’s Munition Production Base Program, the Chemical Demil Program and other broad-based Army Support Programs. Mr. Henderson was actively involved in many of these programs. At the time of his retirement in 1991, he was Deputy Director of Engineering.
Prior to his retirement, Mr. Henderson received the Army’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
Mr. Henderson was a Baptist and a member of Weatherly Heights Baptist Church. He taught Sunday School and served as a deacon in Baptist churches in Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama. In recent years his church attendance and activity have been limited for various reasons.
After retirement Mr. Henderson enjoyed his family, gardening, reading and watching Tennessee Volunteer football games and Lady Vols basketball.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hence and Georgia Henderson of Clinton, Tennessee; three brothers, Edward, Franklin and Victor; Victor’s wife, Dot; as well as a brother-in-law, Olin Wilson; and his beloved wife of 60 years, Fay (Conner), passed away in 2012.
Mr. Henderson is survived by two sisters, Mary Ruth Boyd and her husband, James of Powell, Tennessee, and Wanda Wilson of Asheville, NC; a sister-in-law, Marie Henderson of Tullahoma, Tennessee; and a brother-in-law, Lonnie Conner, who lives in Lusby, Maryland, with his wife, Barbara. Mr. Henderson’s son, Stuart, and his wife, Mary Lou, live in Arab, Alabama. Karen Henderson, daughter, lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has two grandchildren, Creed, of Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Amanda Gregory who, along with her husband, Mac, and their two sons, Elijah and James, also live in Arab, Alabama. Mr. Henderson also is survived by many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. Because of the pandemic, there was a private Zoom memorial service yesterday for invited guests. For those who live in the Clinton area, there will be a short graveside service, organized by Mr. Henderson’s sister, Mary Ruth Boyd of Powell, on Monday, Feb. 1, 2 p.m. (EST) at Woodhaven Cemetery. Masks requested.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Weatherly Heights Baptist Church (1306 Cannstatt Dr. SE, Huntsville, AL 35803), the American Heart Association, or the American Diabetes Association.
