James “Lynn” Henson

September 27, 2017

James “Lynn” Henson, 93, died Sept. 13, 2017, at his home in Billings, MT.

Lynn was born Oct. 2, 1923, in Marlow to Ray and Lois Henson. After high school he joined the Merchant Marines during WWII serving in the Mediterranean and South Pacific, returning in 1945.

Lynn had a long career working on in the oil fields, as a derrick hand, mud-logger and truck driver, from Louisiana to Canada. He retired in 1988 as an Oil & Gas Inspector from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Lynn loved country music and as a young man, he played guitar with the White Mountain Ramblers band. He continued to regularly have friends in his home for jam sessions all of his life.

In 1953, he married Joyce Marie Wynns of Marlow. They had three children. In 1986, Lynn married Laura Leona Bennett of Tulsa.

Lynn was preceded in death by his mother, Lois Mangum Henson Pugh; his brother, H. Wayne Henson; his sister, Geraldine Short; and his wife, Leona Henson. Survivors include his children (spouses), Mary Ann Henson of Billings, MT, C. Russell Henson (JoAnn) of Frisco, Texas, and Jane L. Henson (Murphy Moore) of Clarkdale, AZ; his grandchildren, Tyler and Connor Henson; and his step-children, Barbara (Jim) Trecek of Tulsa, and Gary (Muffy) Bennett of Phoenix AZ; step-grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Lynn was a lifetime member of the Elks and a “perpetual” member of the Masons-Shriners. He often carried the American Flag during parades representing the Al Bedoo Shriners of Billings, MT and the Akdar Shriners of Tulsa.

Lynn will be interred in the Marlow Cemetery. In lieu of a memorial please make a donation to the Shriners Hospital for Children.