Ret. Lt. Col. James Edward “Jim” Henson, age 67, a native of Birmingham, and a resident of Daphne, died Sunday, July 1, 2012.
Mr. Henson was a retired Air Force Lt. Col. He served as an Air Weather Staff Officer in Thailand during the Vietnam Conflict and was an aerial reconnaissance officer serving as a “Typhoon Chaser” in Japan and Guam and a “Hurricane Hunter” in Biloxi, MS. He also served as Senior Weather Officer on the SAC Aerial Command Post and commanded an AWAC (Airborne Early Warning and Control) squadron. Mr. Henson received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from The University of Alabama and Masters from the University of St. Louis. After retirement from the U.S.A.F., he received a 2nd Masters Degree in secondary education and taught as a full-time and substitute teacher in the Baldwin County School System. He was preceded in death by his father, James E. Henson and is survived by his wife, Beth Danner Henson of Daphne; daughter, Suzanne (Will) Emmons of Frisco, Texas, 2 sons; Jeff Henson of Oxford, MS and Chad (Allison) Henson of Taylor, MS, mother, Elsie Ard Henson and sister, Janet (Larry) Elliott both of Southlake, TX, 2 step sons, Chris and Caleb MacCartee and five grandchildren, Alex Henson, Owen and Cooper Emmons, and Issac and Elliot Henson, and 2 nephews, Bryant Elliott and Lt. Spencer Elliott. Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at the Loxley United Methodist Church with a visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Graveside services with military honors will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Loxley United Methodist Church, 1062 South Cypress Street, Loxley, AL 36551. Funeral arrangements are by Mack Funeral Home & Crematory, Hwy 59, Robertsdale.
