LUCILLE HENDERSON

Lucille Henderson, 93 of Devils Lake formerly of Calvin, ND died on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at Heartland Care Center, Devils Lake.  Funeral services will be held Tuesday, March 18, at 11 a.m. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Devils Lake, with Pastor Kevin Kaufmann officiating. A prayer service Monday at 7 p.m. will be held at the Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake with visitation from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. Tuesday visitation will be one hour before services at the church. Interment will be in the Corinthian Cemetery, rural Calvin in the spring. Marguerite Lucille Perry was born July 7, 1920, to Ralph and Elizabeth Johnson Perry at Grand Forks, ND. After living in various towns, the family settled in Portal, ND, where she attended high school and graduated in 1936. She attended college in California one year, then returned to North Dakota to complete her standard teaching degree at Valley City in 1939. She obtained her first teaching job and began teaching in a one-room country school near Sanborn, with seven pupils, at the age of 19. She always remembered her early days of teaching there and at several other country schools fondly. She met her future husband, Garrett Henderson, while visiting her Logan cousins at Calvin that year. On November 1, 1941, the couple was married at Cando, ND, by another cousin, Rev. Claude Pearson. While Garrett had already been drafted into the Army, the full meaning of the war’s impact on their lives was felt just over a month later, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. They were to be separated by war for most of the next five years. She continued teaching in North Dakota, but later moved to Seattle, where she was employed at Boeing. In 1945, Garrett was discharged from the Army and the couple returned to the farm at Calvin, where they raised their family. Lucille enjoyed the farm, having learned many skills from her mother-in-law, Tena Henderson. She loved gardening, canning, and growing flowers, and was known as a great cook. In 1963, Lucille returned to her first love of teaching, and taught at Border Central Elementary School at Sarles for the next 16 years. She continued to take college courses in education during the summers, and never tired of learning. She was also an active member of the Calvin-Sarles community, including life-long memberships in the Sarles American Legion Auxiliary and Glenila Presbyterian Church at Calvin. In 1982, the couple moved to Devils Lake. They enjoyed an active retirement, traveling widely and spending time with friends and family. Garrett died in 1999, and Lucille continued to live in Devils Lake, the last five years at the Lake Country Manor assisted living facility. She always took an active interest in everyone around her, and her family continued to be her greatest joy. Lucille is survived by her children, Faye (Karl) Westphal, Devils Lake, Diane (Patrick) McGannon, Surprise, Ariz., and Julie (Michael) Ovitt , Hickson, ND, Michael (Debby) of Helena, Mont., and Steven (Nancy) of Balaton, Minn.; 13 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren, a step-sister, Nona Armstrong of San Diego, Calif., sisters-in-law, Evie Perry, Diamond Springs, Calif., and Daphne Perry, Vancouver, Wash. She was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Elizabeth Perry, her stepmother, Alma Perry, her husband, Garrett, a daughter, Luanne Henderson Havens, brothers, John Perry and Ralph Perry, and a sister, Patricia Lafrenz.   Casket Bearers for Lucille will be Darrin Coe, Jeffrey Westphal, Justin Fetsch, Garrett Havens, Ryan Peterson and Michael Johnson.   Music will be provided by JoDee Lagein and Lynda Pearson. Friends may sign the online register book and share memories of Lucille at www.gilbertsonfuneralhome.com Gilbertson Funeral Home, Devils Lake