October 11, 2001

Kenneth B. Henderson, 92, a retired professor of mathematics education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-author of 13 math textbooks, died Wednesday, Oct. 3, in his home in Mesa, Ariz.

Born in Cleveland, Mr. Henderson earned a bachelor's degree in 1931 from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and a master's degree from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, in 1936. Mr. Henderson served during World War II as an Army Air Forces captain at Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Ala., using his geometry skills to help teach bomber pilots to fly.

After the war, Mr. Henderson earned his PhD from Ohio State, then taught at there and at the University of Pennsylvania before coming to the University of Illinois in 1948. He retired as a professor emeritus of secondary education in 1974.

Mr. Henderson decided to leave his university post after becoming impatient with disruptive student protests against the Vietnam War, said his stepgrandson, Dr. David E. Morrison III.

“There wasn't any teaching going on, and he loved teaching,” his stepgrandson said. “It was a thread throughout his life. He was passionate about people and teaching and wanting to get it right.”

After retiring, Mr. Henderson and his first wife, Ruth, moved to Florida and then to Mesa, where they enjoyed square dancing. His skills in mathematics and “ passion for understanding ” also helped him do very well with investments, his stepgrandson said.

“ He was up early every day, reading The Wall Street Journal, and he could talk in-depth about all different kinds of markets,” his stepgrandson said. “ But he was very modest and generous, and pretty shy and reserved.”

Mr. Henderson's first wife, whom he married in 1933, died in 1994. The couple had no children, and in the last few years of his life Mr. Henderson enjoyed being part of a larger family through his second marriage.

“ He said he always wanted to have a family,” his stepgrandson said.

Other survivors include his second wife, Marian Taylor Morrison; three stepsons, Dr. David E. Morrison Jr., John Morrison and Dr. S. Kelly Morrison; a stepdaughter, Mary Morrison Hamlin; eight other step grandchildren; and two step-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held in Arizona.

Copyright © 2001, Chicago Tribune

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