Obituary of Catherine "Kay" Henderson

Catherine Henderson, resident of Dawson Creek and former resident of Rolla BC, passed away August 1, 2016 at 80 years, surrounded by her children. Kay was born in Fort St. John Hospital on October 8, 1935, the sixth of 11 children born to her parents George and Elizabeth Ollenberger. Kay grew up in the Fort St. John area on the farm. As part of a large family, life included sharing a room and a bed with her sisters. She was close with her sisters throughout her life, even after they had their own spaces. Kay went to school until about grade eight, either walking the mile to the Baldonnel School or riding in a sleigh or buggy to Charlie Lake School. She left school to help care for her younger siblings and her grandma, and tended to the large garden needed to feed the crew. This suited her, as she never went without a garden after that, no matter how small, she found a spot to grow vegetables and flowers. Kay moved to Dawson Creek with her sister Flo and got a job at the Co-Op. One night after going to a movie, they stopped at the Starlight Caf. Kay mentioned that she knew two men sitting nearby and they joined them at their table. Those two men were Gavin Rosie and Gerry Hall. The rest as they say, is history. Kay and Gerry were married in June of 1955. They had three children, Richard, (NEVER to be called Dick), in July 1956, Janis, in December 1958, and Sharon, in June 1962. They lived on a farm in Doe River until Gerry unexpectedly passed in March of 1966. Kay moved her family to Rolla to live with Gerry's parents for a year until she moved into Dawson Creek. Even while in town she made sure to grow a garden and be surrounded by flowers, but her heart belonged in the country so after a year, back to Rolla they went. Gerry had told Kay that should anything happen to him, she could date his bachelor friend Walter Henderson. As it happened, the two did start dating in 1968 and got married in February of 1970. Nine months later, Kevin was born and the family was complete. Kay and Walter were married for 44 years. They lived on the farm in Rolla until 1997 when they moved to Dawson Creek. Walt passed away in November of 2014, proving that Kay was tougher than she looked, having outlived two husbands. The night she passed, her nurse told her to go on up to heaven and cause a bit of trouble, and let them fight over her. Kay was a great catch and had enough love for everyone so she will surely be happy reunited with her husbands, and in fact will be buried between them in the Rolla Cemetery. Kay was well known in the Rolla area for her bountiful garden - it was probably large enough to feed the entire community! Hours were spent planting and weeding, hilling the potatoes, and then picking, cleaning and preserving all the vegetables for the winter ahead . She would can and cook for days, often with her sisters Jean and Flo helping and keeping her company. Kay was always one to have the coffee on and welcome in whoever happened by. She loved to feed people. Coffee and snacks led to dinner, and evening snacks weren't far behind. There was never a shortage of food. All of the kids remember marathon sessions of making homemade noodles, perogies, and big batches of soup. Coming home from work or school to a batch of homemade noodles draped on the ironing board, and wherever else she could find space, was a real thrill. Her son in law Lloyd remembers the first time he ate in Kay's kitchen; she fed him strawberry shortcake with cream that had gone sour (she swears it was by mistake, and if not, it didn't work, he didn't go away). Once Lloyd got more established in the family, and fessed up that he didn't really enjoy the dessert, Kay was mortified. One of Rick's earliest memories of his mom is being out at the dugout to fetch a pail of water, when an innocent garter snake appeared. The pail went flying and Rick found himself being dragged back to the house. Kay did not like snakes! Despite that, she did travel to Arizona, Nashville, and Las Vegas with Walt and most often one of her sisters, seeing the sights. The trips to Vegas were popular and fairly frequent, as Kay was lucky, often winning enough to pay for the trip. Later they toured to Alaska and visited the Okanagan to visit family. Leisure time was spent bowling and golfing as well there were lots of hours to fill without the farm to take care of. Kay and Walt enjoyed dancing and took every opportunity to attend a community dance to socialize. Kay crafted and sewed as well. She spent hours making dolls, sewing them special outfits, and cutting their hair just right. Kay was close with her sisters, especially Jean and Flo as they lived nearby. They would all get together, along with the kids, and great times were had. Christmas and New Year's was a week-long celebration of food and family. Kay was a wonderful and caring wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was fiercely proud of her children and their children, never missing a chance to brag up their latest accomplishments, big or small. She worried about them all a wee bit too, but she just couldn't help it. The family just learned to check in often and make sure she knew everyone was OK. Kay passed away peacefully at the Dawson Creek Hospital on August 1st at the age of 80 years. She will be greatly missed by all that knew and loved her. Kay was predeceased by her parents, George and Elizabeth, and her siblings Pius, Anne, Leona, Pete, and Ray. She is survived by siblings Jean, Janice, Sylvia, Flo and Gabe, and children Rick (Faith) Janis (Steve), Sharon (Lloyd) and Kevin (Tyra), nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Service 1:00 pm Saturday, August 6, 2016 Senior Citizens Hall 1101 McKellar Ave DAWSON CREEK, British Columbia, Canada V1G 2S2