The soul of Robert Glenn ‘Bob’ Henson left this world on April 26, 2024. Fourteen years earlier doctors had found lung cancer and in between, also skin cancer and bladder cancer and for fourteen years he thumbed his nose at illness and lived life as he always had – with gentle ease. He’d been born on November 2, 1939 in Florence, Alabama to the late Rufus Glenn and Martha Earline (Richardson) and was raised with his two younger sisters, the late Bobbie Jean Greenberg and Sandra Sue Barrett. He didn’t say ‘warsh’ instead of ‘wash’ or ‘wrassle’ instead of ‘wrestle’, but he loved biscuits and grits and despite moving with his family to Ohio as a child, he never gave up supporting the Crimson Tide (but he owned a Buckeyes sweatshirt too, of course).

Bob joined Delta Airlines in 1959, working the ramp at Willow Run Airport. He was drafted into the army, and while he didn’t see combat, he saw Europe and would proudly talk about his time in Germany as a tank operator. His return to the States after an honorable discharge led him back to Delta and a job with the Reservations department in Detroit. It was there that he spotted Cathy Rondina in the Res lunchroom, and he told his dad he’d met the girl he would marry. And they did, in 1965. Delta gave Bob a wife and a set of lifelong friends that were so close that his kids call them Uncle and Aunt to this day. He also got his dog from Delta, brought home from Air Freight one day after a passenger never showed to pick her up. The late Power Puff Henson loved Bob, Bob’s recliner and Bob’s lap.

Before having kids – there were three, Mary Beth Henson (Paul Lotrus), Robert Glenn Henson Jr. (Jennifer Kelemen), and Brian Paul Henson (Kristen Bielaniec) – they travelled with friends, and family albums are filled with photos of Bob and Cathy doing Lido on the beach and playing games that involved passing an orange from chin to chin. After having kids, Bob exchanged beachside lido poles for poolside and baseball field parent duty. He was a great chauffeur to meets and games and nobody at Dolphins Rec, Adams Jr High or Wayne Memorial High School will forget his wood-paneled station wagon with the orange ‘leather’ bench seats that he’d polish with enough care that you’d slide right across the seat when he took a turn. And he was a good driver, his turns were always gentle.

After retiring from the airport in 1993 (the old airport, with the glass-brick walls and outdoor observation deck where you could watch the planes come in) Bob worked in the Hudson’s furniture department (ok, it was Marshall Fields, and then Macy’s but in this family, it will always be Hudson’s) but not so much that he couldn’t babysit his grandchildren. There are eight of those: Haley (Michael Dennis), Hannah, Madison, Jarrett, York, Adeline, Donovan and Béatrice. He became adept at reading stories and playing make believe. And he put his sports-watching skills to use once again, following grandkids through dance recitals, soccer games, hockey matches, track meets, swimming practice, more dance recitals and a LOT more hockey games and even some horse-back riding. He was a gentle, patient and loving Pappy, even if he never lost his life-long frustration when waiting for others to get ready would make him late.

He lost some of his mobility in recent years, but not before following his nomad kids to cities across America and beyond. He could tell you the flight times by heart for DTW-SAN, DTW-LAX, DTW-DEN or DTW-CDG and he never hesitated to try things – he tasted snails, smelly cheeses and lots of French chocolate. But he could never, ever get a good cup of American coffee in Paris, no matter how hard he tried. As much as he loved planes (he could often tell you the make and model just by listening), he also loved driving and he missed it sorely these later days.

When people talk about Bob, they use the words ‘gentleman’ and ‘kind’ and ‘fun’, he had a sharp wit and was a bit of a flirt with the hospital nurses. Come and celebrate his gentle life with us this Wednesday, May 1st at McCabe Funeral Home, 851 North Canton Center Road in Canton. Visitation will be held from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm, with a service at 7:00 pm.

Donations can be made to the COPD Foundation.