Eileen Henderson

Eileen Rose Henderson, a long-time resident of Brainerd, peacefully passed away on December 10, 2019, surrounded by her large, loving family. Eileen was born in Carrington, ND on July 25, 1931 and grew up in the farming community that instilled the values of hard work, perseverance, and resiliency in her and all her family.  She was married to Oscar L Henderson for 54 years and raised a family of eight children.  Oscar and Eileen were long-time members of St. Francis Catholic Church.  Eileen lived life to the fullest with zest and knew how to have fun! Eileen loved to travel, which she did world-wide, including Egypt, Chile, Czech Republic, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain and several other European countries.  She also loved the arts, especially the opera, where she was a season ticket holder for the Minnesota Opera and attended her last on November 9.  She was a long-time member of the Elks where she continued to go each Tuesday night to socialize with her friends.  She was also an avid bridge player where she played weekly at the Senior Center and hosted a group in her home monthly.  In her day, she was a Brainerd Golf Club champion golfer and continued to play even this past summer.

Eileen is survived by seven children, David Henderson (Barb), Ruth Gmeinder (Mike), Laura Herman (Jim), Patty Tollefson (Paul), Don Henderson (Penny), Bob Henderson (Lynn), and Mary Peters (Bob Kokesh), 20 grandchildren, 23 great-children; one sister, Margaret, and many, many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Oscar, daughter, Beth, grandson, Tyler Gmeinder, three of her brothers, and one sister.

A visitation will be held at St. Francis Catholic Church on Friday, December 13 from 5 – 7 pm with the rosary being at 6:30 pm, and the funeral will also be held at St. Francis Catholic Church in Brainerd on Saturday, December 14 at 1 pm.  In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. Francis Catholic Church.