Dr. Benjamin Henry

Beloved husband, father, and educator Dr. Benjamin Gail Henry, 84, Yates Center, died Thursday, Feb. 26, 2015. Ben was born in Neosho Falls, the fifth of six children of David and Pearl Henry. He served in the U.S. Air Force, 1948-1954, as a radar technician.
Following his discharge, he worked in the Wichita public schools for 32 years, touching the lives of countless students and colleagues while teaching social studies, American history, language arts and government at Central, Allison and Coleman Junior High Schools, working at Murdock Teacher Center, and serving as Wichita School District social studies director. He finished his career as an assistant professor of education at Kansas Newman University.
During retirement he wrote government grants for and served on several community boards including Southeast Kansas Mental Health, Tri-Valley Developmental Services, Quad-County Enterprise Committee and Yates Center United Methodist Church. Dr. Henry was a graduate of Kansas State University and Emporia State College and earned his doctorate of education at Indiana University, Bloomington.
He is preceded in death by his parents; siblings Mary Legan, Blanche Lewis, Pearl Scheibmeir and David Henry; and daughter Julie Ann Henry.
He is survived by his first wife Irene, and his current wife Mary-Louise; daughters Denise (John) Lauffer of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Leslie (Joseph) Myers of Wichita; son David (Marie-Louise) of Travelers Rest, S.C.; stepdaughters Linda Briscoe of Sidney, Neb., and Sandra Herren of Muscle Shoals, Ala.; grandchildren October Dawn Penner, Tiffany Ellen Bonds, Jonathan True Lauffer and David William Henry; great-grandchildren Madison Martinez, Olivia Bonds and Jackson Penner; and sister Helen (Roy) Lankton of Le Roy.
Funeral services are at 2 p.m. today at United Methodist Church, Yates Center. Burial will be at the Cedarvale Cemetery, Neosho Falls.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association and may be left with Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola. Go to www.iolafuneral.com to leave condolences or sign the guestbook online.