John Arthur Henderson, M.D., a retired Air Force Flight Surgeon and General Surgeon from Asheville, North Carolina, just died (on 31 August 2008). He was 85. Henderson graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1945. He interned at the Research and Educational Hospital, Chicago, Illinois; and was surgical resident at Scott and White Clinic, Temple, Texas. During his Air Force career, he served in England, Spain, and Japan. Within the United States, he was stationed in various states from New York to California. Dr. Henderson, well respected in the medical community, gained national respect and affection for his powerful freethought words, heard and read by many people across the nation. He had improved steadily as an effective speaker, charming audiences even as he inspired them to think. His wit and easy manner as a speaker, along with his popular constant traveling companion, his wife Ruth, made him increasingly in demand as a speaker, with repeat performances at venues where he had spoken earlier increasingly the norm. He had addressed both local freethought groups, like Atlanta Freethought Society and the Secular Humanists of the Low Country (in Charleston), or at Furman University, and national events like the Freethought Advance in Alabama or other atheist conferences. He served on the speaker’s bureau for Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers His talks, his books, and his letters to the editor forced many to think and to laugh, often simultaneously. Henderson’s philosophical reputation grew steadily as well in recent years, with each of his books presenting a deepening complexity without sacrificing his sharp wit. He touched the lives of countless people, first as a doctor, then as a writer and speaker. He will be much missed.His books included god.com: a deity for the new millennium (2005), Fear Faith, Fact, Fantasy (2004), and Judging God: It Is Time to Judge Religions and Their Gods (2007; with Craig Gurgew).Condolences can be sent to his wife Ruth at jrh828@webtv.net.Ed BucknerSmyrna GA USA
Dr. Henderson will be missed. A life of good works. My condolences to his loved ones.
It was sad news to me to read about Dr Henderson but it’s nice to know he lived a long life.
Dr. Henderson spoke to New York City Atheists this past spring about his latest book, Judging God. There was no sign that he was ill, so, mercifully, his death must have been sudden.
The thing I most liked about John Henderson is that he never stopped living life to its fullest. After he retired from medicine–and he practiced medicine long after other doctors would have retired–he started a whole new career: writing books about Atheism.
John learned from scratch about the publishing business–how to get published, how to let your work be edited, how to market your books. He brought to his books and his lectures a kind of folksy wisdom and a respect for all people. He was, in fact, a teacher, both, I think, in his medical career and in his writing career. His attitude was, I’ve lived a long time; this is what I’ve learned and I want to share it with you.
John Henderson leaves behind, besides his wonderful partner, his wife Ruth, a legacy of books and wisdom. I want to live my life the way John did.
Goodbye, John. We will miss you.
It is with sadness that we mark the passing of Dr. Henderson. Several times I had the pleasure of lively discussions with him based upon his books on “Atheist Viewpoint” and “NYC Atheists Live! (On Tape).” My deepest condolences to Ruth and the rest of his family.