The past few days have been the toughest ever for the Henderson family. Our hero, family patriarch, mentor, loving husband to Lois, kind and gentle father to Bobby, David and Susan, doting grandfather to three grandchildren, Matthew, Lauren, and Patrick, has left us for his place in heaven in the early hours of August 17, 2013. We give our heart-felt thanks to the would-be rescuers who rushed to his aid and did their very best to save him. Sadly, despite their best efforts, they were unable to revive the man who has meant so much to so many for over 81 years. I am not sure that we can ever truly do justice to the memory him. All we can do is try our best to share his "Story of a Life" with you...the life of the man born Robert (Bob) Lee Henderson to Joseph W. and Ethel P. Henderson in Dixon, Illinois on September 26,1931 . Bob's mother and father were contemporaries of former President Ronald Reagan during their formative years in Dixon. His mother, Ethel, used to play with "Old Dutch", as they referred to the young Reagan as children back then. Bob's father, Joseph, hung out with Reagan and was actually party to a youthful prank pulled by them in Dixon. That prank resulted in a $100.00 reward for information related their ill-advised hi jinks. The prankster acorn did not fall far from the tree; dad told numerous tales of his youthful exploits, often resulting in a Sheriff's visit made the Henderson household...one of his first stops in attempt to get to the bottom of mysteries such as "Who poured incinerator ashes on a mean man's front porch?" Bob and his accomplices were brought to justice after they were turned in by the younger brother of one of the boys involved. The younger lad turned them in exchange for an ice cream cone. What else could a kid do but turn them in? The offer was for a double-dip cone after all. Bob cast aside his erstwhile penchant for pranks and went on to attend Dixon High School, and after a stint in college, decided his true calling was soaring off into the wild blue yonder, high in the sky. He joined the United States Air Force where he served for six years as a 1st Lieutenant piloting mainly B-25 aircraft. Bob met and married Lois Martha Henderson on May 4, 1956, and the following year, they started their family by welcoming Robert "Bobby" Lee Henderson Jr. in March 1957. Bob Sr. was honorably discharged from his military service and embarked on a career in commercial aviation. Son #2, David Allen Henderson, arrived in December 1961, followed by a daughter, Susan Henderson, in December 1963. During his 30-some year career, Bob worked as a commercial airline pilot for Lake Central Airlines, Allegheny Airlines, and USAir. As a young man (Bobby) I was very proud of his pilot father. Bobby recalls he was especially pleased when told to write about his heroes in the third grade, and the story was all about Bob. Bob was a generous man and gave of himself and his time. When the family lived in Plainfield, he was a member of the Plainfield Methodist Church. The church ran an annual Christmas tree lot, and Bob would cheerfully volunteer, often showing up after having just completed a long multi-day trip. In fourth grade, Bobby volunteered that his dad would provide the school Christmas tree. Money, then, was tight for the family, but Bob purchased a tree, transported it to the school, and set it up...much to the delight of all the kids. Although it was probably an expensive inconvenience, nary a complaint was heard from Bob. That was one of the early lessons in integrity that Bobby learned from the man he called "Dad". During those years, Bob was what they called a "Reserve Pilot", which meant he was basically "On Call". This was years before beepers and cell phones became ubiquitous devices, so he would dutifully call into the flight dispatch office to let them know where he could be contacted in case they needed him to take a flight. Bobby noticed that some of the other pilots were not as dutiful in honoring their contact number commitments. That was another lesson that Bobby learned from his father about how a real man conducted himself with honor and integrity. Bobby recalls another time when Bob took him along to visit a friend. The friend kept extolling him to "have a beer". Finally Bob relented, even though that was not really ever his thing. He took a couple of sips to be polite. Shortly after, he received "the call" to report to work. Although he only had a sip of beer, it was still enough to be against the rules to pilot a flight. No one would have ever known, but he would have, so Bob did not fly that night. Young Bobby learned a lot about the true meaning of doing the right thing and being honest that night...a lesson that is a lesson that all Bob's children have carried with them throughout the years to this very day. Bob was also a good and giving friend to those needing help...both to his friends and also random strangers in need. He was an extremely talented man. At one time, he built a boat out of a pile of boards, plywood, and fiberglass...an amazing feat. The Henderson family shared many enjoyable hours floating around Mansfield lake riding in the fruit of his labors. Bob also helped a friend of his, Paul Miller, to build a canoe. Then another friend and co-worker, Harvey Goff, opened a Hobby Shop in Plainfield. Back in the mid-sixties, slot car racing was all the rage. Bob spent countless hours building an incredible 12-lane, thirty-two foot race track to help his friend's business thrive and be successful. He taught his son Bobby how to make Pinewood Derby cars for Cub Scouts. Unlike some of the other dads who took over the projects from their sons, Bob took the time to show Bobby (and all his kids), the proper tools and how to use them (at least the ones where no appendages could be lost). These racing machines that were the envy of all the other scouts. A few years later these cars were shared with one of the stewardesses who had a boy without a dad so that he could experience the joys of the Scouting Pinewood Derby. Bob arranged for Bobby's Cub Scout group to get a tour of the Lake Central Airline facilities one summer, including the opportunity for each and every boy to take a turn as "Captain" in the cockpit of a real airplane. That is one of the best days Bobby ever had when each of those boys told him how lucky he was to have such a cool dad. What a great day in the life of a young boy when he can say with great pride, "That's MY Dad!". Bob also taught others about doing the right thing and fighting for what you believe in. Example: when he was nominated to serve on the Indianapolis Airport Safety Committee. He worked hard with the Airport Director, and a little bit of arm-twisting with the Mayor, to make vast improvements to the capabilities of the Airport Safety Personnel and the procurement of much needed safety equipment, making the airport a much safer facility for all of the travelers and personnel who passed through the airport. It has been said that young children have keen insights about adults who are good and special. Children adored Bob. Several neighborhood children would often come to the door and ask "Can Bob come out and play?" This was because Bob would take the time to listen, and relate to, what these little children had to say and would simply spend time with them. Over the years, several families lived next door to the Henderson's, and they all came to love their surrogate Grandpa. Their parents would let them come over into the yard, and Bob would swing them for hours on the swing set he built for his Grand kids just like they were his very own. In a way, they became extended family members because of the attention, love and respect he showed them. He enjoyed many hobbies throughout his life time. When he pursued them, he pursued them with an all-out, robust passion. He loved hunting the elusive Morel Mushrooms. He and a friend named John Colescott frequented Mansfield Lake to hunt for them in his younger days. In later years, he would hunt for them out at the farm he owned in Coatesville, Indiana, where he also raised polled Hereford cows just for the pure joy of it. In a way, the farm was a tribute to his Uncle Jim and Aunt Gertie with whom he spent summers on their farm as a boy. One of Bob's cows was sister to a Grand National Champion. He gave the cows names to fit their personalities, like "Big Red", "Beauregard", "Phyllis", and "Knothead", who was a rather hard-headed contrary creature. He really enjoyed farming and especially loved taking his dog, Fluffy, along. Fluffy was a small Pomeranian, with the heart of a lion. She would run through pastures, happily chasing the cows. Fluffy loved Bob. When he returned home from a flight, and the phone rang, it seemed that Fluffy always knew it was him calling home. He also was and accomplished orchid grower, a passion that he developed after several visits to Hawaii. He built a greenhouse addition to the family home and began to cultivating several orchid varieties. This hobby required a great deal of patience and hard work, but he really enjoyed it. Bob also was early to embrace the emerging technology of personal home computing. He was most certainly the first kid on the block to have a Tandy-Radio Shack model TRS-80 personal computer with dual floppy drives and a 300 baud modem...pretty cutting age stuff back then. Is it any wonder that his love and embracement of this fledgling technology inspired two of his children to become IT professionals? He also leveraged his thirst for computer knowledge into using computer software to manage his stock investments. Bob was an astute trader, at one time buying shares of a fledgling computer company called Compaq, and this crazy chip making company called Intel. During his time as a commercial airline pilot, he did not have a big interest in private aviation. It seemed kind of like getting off work and doing a hobby that was like, well, work. However, after his retirement, when he was no longer flying the big multi-engine jets, he began to enjoy flying small planes. He ran into an ironic situation where he had only held a multi-engine rating since his Air Force days, and the FAA was going to make him go through the complete flight training...kind of like asking a rocket scientist to go back to launching model rockets. In the end, a compromise was made, and he just had to do some proficiency checks with a nice young lady who pronounced him fit to fly the small single engine planes. The young instructor joked that he had more time inspecting airplanes prior to flights than she had total. Bob eventually purchased a single engine Aeronca Champ and began flying with his friends. Just owning and flying a plane was not where he stopped. As with the boat, canoe, and race track he built so many years ago, he began to build an airplane, with a set of plans, out of a pile of aircraft tubing and wood piled up in the garage. He continued work on the plane, learning the art of welding and building the jigs needed to complete the wings and fuselage. A visit to his house often included seeing him work in the garage and being asked to pass judgement of how good his weld joint looked. Bob was particularly adept at working those "Claw Machines"...the ones that you see in the video arcades chock full of cuddly stuffed animals. In fact, if the claw machine had ever become an Olympic event, Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps would still have a way to go to catch Bob in the gold-medal department. As with other things in his life, he would shower the fruits of his efforts on his grand kids. When the grand kids got a bit older and too "cool" for stuffed animals, much to the delight of the next generation of neighborhood kids, they became the recipients of his generosity and prowess operating the machines. Bob was just a big kid at heart, playing the game and teaching a life lesson in the joys of sharing and giving. In addition to fun with the claw machine, he remained just a big kid at heart and never ceased to enjoy the wonders of Disney World, visiting many times with his kids and later with his grand kids. Like all of us he had one big vice..ice cream bars. It started with a Dove Bar penchant and later switched to the low-fat Artic Blaster Fudge sickles. His daughter, Susan, was emptying his wastebasket this week. What did she find? It was loaded with the leftover sticks and wrappers, evidence of his enjoyment of the tasty frozen treats. While a commercial airline pilot, he treated his passengers with respect, even the ones who were not so nice. He always looked out for their safety when their lives and well being were in his care. Their very lives rested in his capable hands. In an emergency, he was always calm, cool, and collected. The consummate professional. When he was Captain of the aircraft, there was no doubt that he was in command. You could take this to the bank, no plane would ever leave the ground if there were any problems with it. His coworkers always had immense respect for him and heaped praise upon him whenever the opportunity arose. Bob could also be measured by the values, and guidance he bestowed upon his three children, who have truly been blessed and privileged to be able to call this man "Dad". And by his Grandchildren who have basked in the glow of Grandpa Henderson's generous spirit, love, kindness, and wisdom. In this day and age of quickie marriages and divorces, "starter marriages", "Trophy Wives" and the like, Robert Lee Henderson's life could be measured by the loving way he treated his wife through thick and thin, richer or poorer, good times and bad, throughout 57 rock-solid years of marriage. I guess the measure of a man can be gauged by how well he lived his life. The yardstick being the impact of his words, actions and deeds. I think we need something longer than a yardstick for the task of measuring the impact Bob had on his fellow mankind. Countless young people and friends whose lives he touched have been made better from having known him. To you Bob/Dad/Grandpa, from your wife, kids, grand kids and the rest of your extended family... God Bless and keep you, you may be gone from this earthly life but you will live on forever in the hearts and memories of all those who love you and the countless lives your goodness has touched. We will do our best to be the living legacy of all the good and wonderful things that made you such a special man and to remember all the valuable life lessons you have taught us.