Carl Wesley Henderson

Carl Wesley Henderson found peace on April 14th, 2026 in Frisco, Texas, returning to the loving arms of his beloved late parents, Gerald and Marion (Pendleton) Henderson, and his best friend, Steven Eaton. He is survived by his children: Jennifer Crane and her husband Richard, of Melrose, Scotland, Heather Ganem and her husband Dave, of Woburn, MA, Christopher Henderson and his wife Katie of South Berwick, ME, and Alex Lebron and his wife Katie, of Lavon, TX. He was Gampa to ten grandchildren: Zoey, Heather, David, Ricky, Joshua, Parker, Zachary, Cadence, Lily, and Maria, and was brother to Jennifer Wells, Emily Taft, Curt Henderson, and Nancy Metropolis, as well as uncle to numerous nephews and nieces.

Carl was born on July 28th, 1953, in Salem, Massachusetts, the fourth child in a family of five, and attended Peabody public schools, graduating from Peabody High School in 1971 before enlisting in the US Navy. He worked with textiles companies including Colony and Arly, whilst enjoying gardening, woodworking, and visiting the seaside during his spare time. Having a great love of all things cowboys since childhood, Carl made Texas his home in 1988, for a time working for the Dallas Cowboys, a great joy to him. Trips back to the Boston area were never complete without a stop or two to Land and Sea, his favorite spot for roast beef sandwiches and onion rings, never forgetting to find an ice cream parlor for a scoop or two of maple walnut ice cream, his favorite flavor. A lover of “dad jokes”, Carl would offer trips to ice cream parlors to his children but only if they sang, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,” which they begrudgingly did each and every time. Christmas was a yearly favorite for him, and with it came an annual need for everything to look picture perfect, even if this meant, during the Christmas of 1991, that the seven foot tree fell on top of him—twice—because it wasn’t “straight enough”. In many ways, he emulated one of his favorite film characters, Clark W. Griswold.

Carl is especially remembered for his humor and love of animals, particularly horses and dogs, but ultimately as a father and grandfather. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Carl’s name to a charity for the rescue of dogs or horses. A private family memorial will be held in May.

“And now, I’m glad I didn’t know the way it all would end, the way it all would go, our lives are better left to chance, could have missed the pain, but I’d have to miss the dance…”