Agnes H. Henderson, 88, passed away peacefully at home in her sleep August 10, 2023. Born August 15, 1934, to Nick and Vina Holst at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California, Agnes spent most of her childhood years on the move out West and lived in numerous places including Missouri, Washington, California and Guam.
After attending 13 different schools over the course of 12 years, Agnes graduated from San Diego’s Herbert Hoover High School in 1952. That same year on November 2, she met Ralph Gierald Henderson, whom she married March 12, 1954. The two shared a 51-year marriage and are survived by their five children: Ralph (Patty), Ross, Ellise Agnes, Reed (Rosemary) and Rex (Priscilla). She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and infant granddaughter, Katharine.
In the spring of 1960, after living in California, Tennessee, and Guam due to Ralph Gierald’s naval career, Agnes and her husband settled on the Westside of Jacksonville, Florida, where, as a homemaker, she raised her children.
In the late 1960s, she began classes at Florida Junior College, now Florida State College at Jacksonville. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa honor society. In 1974, she graduated as a member of the University of North Florida’s charter class with a bachelor’s degree in education.
Agnes began her career in education as a math teacher at St. Matthew’s Catholic School in 1974, though she substituted for teachers at several Westside elementary schools while she worked on her degrees. After a few years at St. Matthew’s, she was offered a job by Duval County Public Schools as a math teacher at Jefferson Davis Middle School. She retired in 1998 after more than 20 years of teaching at the same school.
In addition to her children, Agnes is survived by her sisters Ann Thomas (Tom) and Susie McIntyre (Jim) as well as nine grandchildren: David Moreno, Lindsay Flesher (Tom), Matthew Henderson (Tiffany), Evan Suttle (Marissa), Christopher Chong, Julie Ansley (Travis), Sarah Agnes Henderson, Christopher Henderson (Jessica) and Sean Golde. She is also survived by her 11 great-grandchildren: Levi, Amos, and Jack Ansley; Khaleesi Chong; Thomas and Simone Flesher; Madeline, Charlotte, Dawson, and Declan Henderson; and Adelaide Henderson. She is also survived by several cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
In her retirement, Agnes loved watching movies, reading, listening to the radio, working the daily Jumble, and spending afternoons in her pool. Above all, she loved to be surrounded by her family.
Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m., Thursday, August 24, at Fraser Funeral Home, 8168 Normandy Blvd. A graveside service will follow at 11 a.m. in Riverside Memorial Park. Britt Gilmore, Senior Pastor of Mandarin United Methodist Church, will officiate both services. For those wishing to do so, donations in memory of Agnes can be made to the Navy League of the U.S., Jacksonville Council, at navyleaguejax.org
Fraser Funeral Home
Leave a Condolence