Benjamin Henry DR

Beloved husband, father, and educator Dr. Benjamin Gail Henry, 84, of Yates Center, Kansas, died Thursday, February 26, 2015. Ben was born in Neosho Falls, Kansas the fifth of six children of David and Pearl Henry. He served in the United States Air Force from 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 SE 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, Leslie (Joseph) Myers of Wichita, son David (Marie-Louise) of Travelers Rest, South Carolina; step-daughters Linda Briscoe of Sidney, NE and Sandra Herren of Muscle Shoals, AL; 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 LeRoy, Kansas. Visitation is from 2:00pm-4:00pm, Sunday, March 1 at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel in Iola, Kansas. Funeral services will be 2:00pm Monday, March 2 at the United Methodist Church, Yates Center, Kansas. Burial will be at the Cedarvale Cemetery, Neosho Falls, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the American Heart Association. Memorial gifts may be left with Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Chapel in Iola. Go to www.iolafuneral.com to leave condolences or sign the guestbook online.