Charley Henson

Funeral service for Charley Berton Henson, 92, Lawrence, will be held 1 p.m. Monday, October 19, 2009, at Warren-McElwain Mortuary.  Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery with Military honors.  He died October 15, 2009, at Medicalodges Eudora.

He was born August 22, 1917, in Bates County near Amsterdam, MO the son of James Henry and Ida Belle (Webber) Henson.

He was a WWII veteran.  He joined the Marine Corp on June 1, 19141, and was honorably discharged on February 28, 1947.  He served in the South Pacific until June 1943 on the ship “Enterprise” as an anti-aircraft gunner.  He was on the “Enterprise” near Pearl Harbor when it was bombed in 1941 and remembered seeing the Japanese bombers as they left Pearl Harbor.  Also saw the massive scene of destruction in the harbor as the “Enterprise” tried to dock the next day.  The last eighteen months of his military service were served in Kodiak, AK, on recruiting duty for eight western states.  While living in Emporia, KS he served as one of the first color guards in the first Veteran’s Day Parade in Emporia.  He worked at Constance Utility Co., Lawrence from 1947 until 1951.  From 1951 until 1977, he worked as a lineman for Kansas Power and Light Company (KP&L) Emporia and Lawrence.  Upon retiring from KP&L, he and his wife, Milly became “snowbirds” for eleven years.  He returned to the Lawrence community in 1988 where he lived until a few weeks before his death.  He was a member of the Alfred-Clarke Post #852, IBEW Union, and Heritage Baptist Church.

He married Milly Moore Mounkes in 1948.  She preceded him in death January 3, 1990.

Other survivors include a stepson, Gary Mounkes and wife, Sara, Reading, KS; a sister, Dorothy Jean Hawkins, Gower, MO; one great-grandson, Charles R. Mounkes; daughter-in-law, Mary Fugate and husband, Floyd; granddaughter-in-law, Jan East and husband, Mike and family plus many nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, two stepsons, Robert and Neil Mounkes, two brothers, Claude and Lee Henson; four sisters, Carry Luckan, Lottie Nelson, Lena Snell, and Opal Henson; his grandson, William “Bill” E. Mounkes.

The family will greet friends from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. prior to the service at the mortuary.

The family suggests memorial contributions in his name to Heart of America Hospice, Alfred-Clarke Post #852, and Heritage Baptist Church and may be sent in care of the mortuary.

Online condolences may be sent to warrenmcelwain.com; Subject:  Henson.