John Henson

John A. Henson, 74, passed away peacefully on April 19, 2023, after years of failing health.

John was born March 15, 1949, in Sabine County, Texas to Alfred and Aretha M. Henson. His siblings Audrey E. Henson Ganaway and Quentin L. Henson preceded him in death. He was eight years old when baptized and became a member of the Church of Christ, where he was active in his faith. His grandfather, Harry Henson, taught him to read music and to sing tenor. John was very enthusiastic about working with youth ministry and religious education. He was a member of the Clayton Street Church of Christ, formerly a member of Park East and Mile High Church of Christ.

John attended Terrell High School in Denison Texas where he was a member of the band, played the saxophone and played sports. Other extracurricular activities included the Boy Scouts of America (Life Scout, Junior Assistant Scout Master) and the Explorer Scout. John graduated from Terrell High School May 31, 1966. After graduation, he attended Grayson County College, Denison, where he began his pre-engineering studies. In 1968, John enrolled in Prairie View A&M University, Texas, affectionately known as “The Hill”, where he was in the Senior ROTC Program and became a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. In 1970, John met Carolyn J. Eldridge at Prairie View A&M University.

On May 16, 1971, John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with honors and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve (USAR) as a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG). He accepted Regular Army (RA) Commission effective 5 Jan ’72. John married Carolyn J. Eldridge in December 1971.

In support of this great country, John served in the military—U.S. Army (Active Duty) for four years, and the U.S. Army Reserve for 18 years. After almost 22 years of combined service, Active and Reserve, he retired March 1994 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

John worked thirty years at AT&T (Western Electric Company, AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies, and Avaya) and retired from Avaya in 2001 and continued his career for 27 months with Celestica Corp.

He spent many years working with young people in volunteer technical training after-school programs. He also enjoyed preparing students for success in business and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. His contributions to the lives of others include working with Colorado Association of Black Professional Engineers and Scientist (CABPES), Optimist International and was one of the co-founders and secretary of Colorado FutureTek.

John was an avid listener of various genres of music. His favorite genre was Jazz, whether it be smooth, contemporary, jazz funk and free. He was a dedicated collector of jazz and old school classic vinyl albums and CDs. Some of his favorite artists, to name a few, were Herbie Hancock, Santana, Bill Withers, Gerald Albright, George Benson, Jonathan Butler, Miles Davis, Grover Washington Jr, Boney James, Norman Brown, and Vincent Ingala. John was also a James Bond fan and a collector of all James Bond 007 movies.

To grieve his passing are his wife of 51 years Carolyn J. Henson, his daughters Tiffani N. Henson (Arizona), Kara M. Henson (Texas), Ashley D. Henson (Colorado), and grandson Ryland E Robinson II (California), sisters-in-law Sandra Eldridge, Verna Rose, Vinetta Eldridge, and Janet Anselmo-Henson, brothers-in-law Edwin Eldridge and Napoleon Eldridge II, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and family.

The family would like to thank the St. Anthony North Hospital Intensive Care Unit/Cardiac Care Unit for the compassionate and loving care they provided during his last illness.

The Celebration of Life for John A. Henson will take place on Saturday, May 6, 12:00 pm mountain time at Horan & McConaty, 9998 Grant Street, Thornton, CO 80229