William Henderson

Bill Henderson, 90, of Webster City, passed away Saturday at Israel Hospice House in Ames. Funeral services will be Wednesday, 2:00 p.m., at Stanhope Parish, with Pastor Suzie Moore officiating. Visitation is Tuesday at Foster Funeral Home and Cremation Center, from 5:30 till 7:30 p.m. William Vernon Henderson was born on February 17, 1920, in Pickens County, Alabama, the sixth and youngest child of William David and Verna Verona Mize Henderson. Raised in rural Pickens County, Bill attended country school before entering Carrollton High School, where he played on the football team. Bill was the first in his family to complete high school when he graduated with the class of 1939. Bill enlisted in the U.S. Navy in January, 1942, and was assigned to duty on the battleship U.S.S. Idaho. He served out World War II on the Idaho, traveling over 9,200 miles. As a storekeeper 1st class, Bill-whom everyone called Rebel-was well known on board ship because he did payroll. On a troop train going home on leave in the fall of 1944, Bill met Nilva Jean Riley, a WAVE from Iowa. The couple fell in love that three days on the train and was married on November 18, 1944, in Ceour d'Alene, Idaho, near the Farragut Naval Base where Nilva Jean was stationed. In January he shipped out again on the Idaho and remained at sea until the war ended. Bill's pride in his Navy service and in how the Greatest Generation won the war never left him. The young couple settled in Hamilton County after the war, entering the farming operation of Bill's in-laws, D.R. and Pearl Knight of rural Stanhope. D. R. taught Bill about farming in black Iowa soil instead of red Alabama dirt. They were a strong partnership in many ways until D. R. passed away in 1965. The Hendersons moved to a farm south of Stanhope in March, 1947, and were blessed to live there until July, 2009. There they raised three children, along with grain and livestock. After retiring from active farming in 1987, the Hendersons spent 18 winters in Arizona, where they enjoyed new friendships and many good times. They moved to Crestview Manor and Apartments in 2009. Bill was involved in his community in the Stanhope Lions Club, American Legion Post 576, and as a township trustee. He was an active member of the Stanhope Christian Church, later the Stanhope Parish, as a deacon, elder, and board chairman. Although he embraced life in Iowa, Bill was a true southern gentleman to the end who never completely lost his drawl or his southern manners even after living north of the Mason-Dixon Line for 64 years. He held strong convictions, deep values, and an abiding love for his wife and family that will never end. Left to honor Bill's legacy are his wife Nilva Jean, of Webster City; daughters Ann and husband Dave Kennedy and Billie and Lynn Shelton, all of Stanhope; grandchildren Mark Kennedy and wife Amy, Webster City; Mike Kennedy and wife Robyn of Ames; William Shelton of Des Moines; and Jean Shelton of Des Moines; four great-grandchildren; and numerous relatives in Alabama and Mississippi. He was preceded in death by his son, William Owen, his parents and his wife's parents, three sisters, and two brothers. Write a personal tribute or light a virtual candle for the Henderson family at www.fosterfuneralandcremation.com