Marilyn J. Henderson

Marilyn J. Henderson, 79, of Robinson, IL, passed away on Friday, October 2, 2026, at Arbor Rose in Robinson. She was born on May 20, 1947, in Murphysboro, IL, to Marion and Alma (Beasley) Russell. Marilyn was the big sister of the family in age only; time would prove her the shortest of her siblings, and by a significant margin! They grew up in Grand Tower, IL, where two threads were stitched into Marilyn's life at an early age. The first was her faith. Her childhood home sat three doors down from the First Presbyterian Church, and she was a Presbyterian from those earliest days to her last. The second was her sewing. As a student at Shawnee High School—where she graduated in 1965—she made her own clothes, and she never really put the needle down. Those two threads would run through the rest of her life. A third was about to join them.

His name was Leroy "Le" Henderson. They met in Grand Tower on Easter weekend of 1967, and what began that spring was settled by fall. On November 11, 1967, Marilyn walked into the church she had grown up in and walked out as Le's wife. Married life began in Murphysboro, and she worked at General Telephone in nearby Carbondale during those years. Five years or so went by that way before the two of them moved back to Grand Tower in 1972. Work was scarce there, so Marilyn stayed home, and the town that had given her so much already became the place where she and Le put down roots of their own.

Those roots held for fourteen years, until a promotion for Le with CIPS moved the Hendersons to Robinson in 1986. Leaving Grand Tower was not easy for her, but Marilyn was never one to sulk. She did what she always did: she got busy. Without a word of warning, she informed Le one evening that she had taken a job at Your Flower Basket. In time, she followed Janice Fuller to Palestine when Janice took over The Rocking Horse, where Marilyn kept right on working with flowers for a couple more years. The work suited her, as growing things were already a joy to her. Her own yard was proof of it. Several rose bushes anchored the beds, with blooms of every kind filling in the rest, and Marilyn tended every bit of it herself. (It's worth noting that though Marilyn was slow to anger, she would not be happy to see those flower beds now!)

Those beds got their rest each winter, and in retirement, so did the Hendersons. What began as trips to Sebring and Lake Placid, FL, gradually became something closer to wintering there, a rhythm they kept for twenty years. Packing the car followed a strict order. His golf clubs and her quilting supplies went in first, and everything else had to fit around them. (Priorities!) Their days in Florida ran on the same arrangement: Marilyn quilted, Le golfed, and later on the two of them met up to go out for supper. They loved the small-town feel of Lake Placid, which is no surprise for a girl from Grand Tower. And true to form, she found a Presbyterian church there. For most of those years, they attended the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Placid, where Marilyn joined the "Crafty Sowers," whose ministry to those in need ranged from clothes and diapers to the handmade pillows that became her specialty.

The pillows were only the latest chapter of a story that started back at Shawnee High School. Sewing her own clothes had led Marilyn to quilting, quilting led to wall hangings, and wall hangings led to pillows, more of them than anyone could count. The projects changed over the years, but the quality of her work never did. A quilting show in Oblong once named her work the Viewers' Choice, and the smile on her face that day was one of her biggest. But she didn't sew for ribbons. What she made in Florida she kept making at home, including several pillows for the free store in Palestine. She saw a need, and she filled it with the talent she had been given.

The One who gave her that talent was at the center of her life. Marilyn was a woman of faith and a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Palestine, but church was only part of it; she lived by the teachings of Jesus. Not that she said much about it. She was a little reserved by nature, slow to warm up to a stranger, and more likely to show what she believed than to announce it. And what she showed was kindness. It was the kind that asks for nothing in return, the kind she learned from Jesus Himself. And because she belongs to Him, we don't have to wonder about her now.

Marilyn spent her life tending things that went into the ground and came back more beautiful than before, and she believed the same promise holds for those who are in Christ. She is with her Lord today, and one day He will raise her up, whole and new, in a world where everything planted in faith is finally in full bloom.

Until that day, Marilyn is lovingly remembered by those she leaves behind: her husband of nearly 59 years, Leroy "Le" Henderson; her brother, Bill (Susan) Russell; her sister-in-law, Peggy (Jim) Horntrop; two nieces, Apryl (Daniel) Stark and Cheryl (Kirk) Massie; and two nephews, Matt (Tina) Russell and David Horntrop. She was preceded in death by her parents, Marion & Alma Russell; her brother, Rick Russell; and her sisters, Melissa Russell (in infancy) and Merrie Lou (Jeff) Wilton. 

A time of visitation will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, October 9th, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson. Funeral services will immediately follow at 4:00 p.m. at the funeral home, with Rev.Nan Adams and Celebrant Curt Goodwine officiating. For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed at www.goodwinefuneralhomes.com/live-streams. A committal service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 10th, at the Walker Hill Cemetery in Grand Tower, IL. Memorial contributions may be made to either the "Palestine First Presbyterian Church" or the "Grand Tower First Presbyterian Church," with envelopes available at the funeral home.