Jeff Henderson Remembered

Jul 1 2009 - 4:04pm | Scott Thomas

Jeff Henderson was a mentor, a father, husband, adviser, self-published author, and frequent movie extra. But what brought him to Southwest Texas State was being a teacher.

Jeff Henderson, a retired journalism professor, died June 11 at the age of 67. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Sharon Henderson; daughters Laura Humphries and Tiffany Henderson and two grandchildren.

Jeff Henderson met his wife, Sharon, at Sul Ross university during the 1963 homecoming. However, it was not until the next year they started dating.

“He proposed several times,” she said. “On April fools day he gave me my engagement ring. I didn’t know if I was really engaged for weeks.”

They got married her senior year in the Methodist Student Center on campus as he was working on his Master’s degree. It was not long after that they picked up their roots.

The Hendersons were nomadic for a number of years, moving around West Texas and into New Mexico, during that time they had their two daughters. Finally, in 1974, Jeff and Sharon Henderson settled down with their daughters in San Marcos so he could teach at Southwest Texas State University.

“When we moved here from Odessa when I was five I remember he would take us to the river, put his hands on his hips and say ‘look at all that water,’” Humphries said.

One of the notable things about Jeff Henderson’s life was some did not expect him to live it. When Jeff Henderson was 11 years old he was already diagnosed with heart troubles. Doctors told him he would not live past 18.

“Dad was pretty fearless because he was pretty much given a death sentence when he was 11,” Humphries said. “Watching him pursue these various dream made me realize the only thing that holds you back is yourself.”

Jeff Henderson became known as a popular teacher, but his family said he was strict on his students and did not abide by tardiness, absentness or lazyness.

 “He taught about integrity and honesty,” Sharon Henderson said. “If you left class he said goodbye to you. He gave tests in so many different formats it was nearly impossible to cheat. Also, you couldn’t take his class and skip. If you weren’t taking notes and listening you would fail.”

Humphries described her father as an effective teacher who would stay in touch with the times. She said watching him stay abreast of technological developments in the field helped her do the same in her chosen field of visual communication.

“When I went off to school it was the beginning of the digital age,” she said. “To watch him evolve was pretty cool. He was an old guy teaching Web design. At that point you can’t say ‘I cant do this’ because your father is doing it.”

During his time at Southwest Texas State Jeff Henderson served as the faculty adviser for The University Star from 1990 to 1999. During that time The University Star received awards and recognition, including being named the fifth best tabloid student newspaper in the nation by the Associate Collegiate Press. Also during his time advising The Star, the publication was the first student publications to go online.

She said when people would become upset with what was written in The Star he would treat it with humor and perspective.

“It got to him sometimes because there were some people who were grownups and should have known better,” she said. “You have to keep the newspaper business in perspective.”

Sharon Henderson said the faculty’s priority at the time was always the students.

“Trust me, not everyone likes student journalists,” she said. “It wasn’t just Jeff, it was a whole department of people. They put together an atmosphere of camaraderie and caring. They didn’t always agree, but they made it work.”

Jeff Henderson’s interests extended beyond the walls of academia. Later in life he self published a western novel entitled Marshall of Broken Pick. Through Amazon.com he published the novel, with friends editing it and his daughter helping design the cover.

“It’s funny, humorous, and risqué but not explicit,” Sharon Henderson said. “The sequel is about half written. His girls are wondering how they’ll be able to pull that together.”t

After his death earlier this month, students, former colleagues and friends came to San Marcos from across the nation to remember a man who served as a mentor or friend.

“He loved what he did, the best part for him was seeing his students go off and succeed,” Sharon Henderson said. “Since some of his students came back, I can’t express what they have expressed for Jeff.”

Permalink