Mary Denise Henry

Mary "Denise" Henry, 75, Wausau, died Thursday, April 29, 2004 under the care of Comfort Care and Hospice Services at Community Health Care Wausau Hospital. Denise was born June 7, 1928 in Detroit, Mich., daughter of the late Richard and Florence (Murray) Heenan. On October 20, 1951, she married Jerome J. Henry in St. Ignace, Mich. He survives. She received her BA degree from Marquette University with a major in Sociology and minor in Spanish in 1951. Denise graduated high school in 1946 from the Ursuline Academy, St. Ignace, Mich., a girls' boarding school directed by a French Canadian order of nuns. During college, she worked for the Arnold Ferry Line on Mackinac Island, Mich. While raising her family in Wausau, she taught communication arts at Northcentral Technical College. She moved on to Northern Wisconsin Development Center, where she worked to improve living conditions for Wisconsin Indian tribes, and later was a social worker for North Central Health Care Center, Wausau, until her retirement. Denise gave back to the community. She joined the Saturday Night Singers of St. James Catholic Church and volunteered as a docent at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau. She also served as a guardian in the court system for nursing home residents. Denise was very loyal to her friends. She returned often to revisit her extensive network of family and friends in St. Ignace, where her mother had served as City Clerk. Denise's return visits to northern Michigan gave her the opportunity to promote the area's unique history and beauty among her own children. Denise was a talented musician and studied classical piano at the Wausau Conservatory of Music. Her luck in bridge led to unexpected honors, and her backyard garden thrived under her green thumb. Denise was very proud to be of the Irish heritage and was a lifelong Democrat. She was blessed with a lively sense of humor, and she will be remembered as a mother and grandmother extraordinaire. Besides her husband, Jerome Henry, Wausau, survivors include three children, Jeffrey (Patricia) Henry, Eau Claire, Michael Henry, Pensacola, Florida, and Mary Beth (Frank) Arnett, De Pere; four grandchildren, Megan and Erin Henry and Caitlin and Lauren Arnett. Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by one brother, Richard Heenan, a Korean War veteran who resided in Anaheim, California. The funeral mass will be celebrated at 11 am Monday, May 3, 2004 at the Church of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Wausau. Fr. Stephen Gross will preside. Friends may call from 1 pm to 4 pm Sunday, at the Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, 1302 Sixth St., Wausau, and again from 10 am Monday until the time of the funeral mass at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the Wausau Conservatory of Music.