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In memory of

Jerri Lynn Henson

Pana, IL, USA

October 21, 1955 - June 16, 2019

Oct 21, 1955 - Jun 16, 2019

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Jerri Lynn Henson 10/21/1955- 6/16/2019

Jerri was born October 21, 1955 in Corpus Christi, Texas.. She did many things in her lifetime: she was a ballerina, a bartender, a published poet, a secretary, a Navy wife, a mother, a grand-mother, a baker, a wonderful cook ... She was deeply spiritual but not "establishment religious". She had a saying for everything: her potato salad ("100 cowboys cant be wrong") her very vocal opinions ("I call it the way I see it") Kirk Douglas ("Thats where you get your chin dimple Wendy girl") the year of her birth (" it was a good year for a chevy..and a Jerri") my attitude ("you better get some of that sass outta that ass") seriously, she had a saying for everything and she cracked herself up everytime she came up with a new one....but the things that brought her more joy than anything else were her son, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, And music. She wrote songs to express her thoughts and feelings and to express her love of others. She would sing lyrics for hours until she got the melody just exactly the way she wanted and she would sing to her grandkids as often and for as long as possible. Jerri loved nature, animals and growing beautiful plants. She was incredibly proud of her son and the way he helped her every day, the wonderful mother her oldest grand-daughter became, the responsible adult her youngest grandson became and the beautiful teen & adults her other grandsons and grand daughters are.
Jerri said goodbye to this world, after a long and painful battle with ALS, the afternoon of 6/16/2019 -surroundedd by all 3 of her children. She was preceded in death by her beloved Bampa, GG, Granny and Aunt Joyce and is survived by her mother Barbara; brother Steven ; her 3 children- Wendy, Stormy and Nate : her 8 grandchildren- Genevieve, Morgan, Braiden, Connor, Tyler, Hailey, Rick and Griffin; her 2 great grand-daughters- Lillian and Constance: her great grandson Sebastien and countless cousins.
The family would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to the wonderful nurses, caregivers, and hospital staff of St Johns and St Marys and the fantastic nursing staff of Harbor Light Hospice for being so good to our mom (and grandma) and for the loving, kind support they provided to our family.
In mom's final defiant act against the terrible disease that stole her voice, her dignity, her body and eventually her life..she chose to donate her body to the scientific/medical community to further ALS research in the hopes that in some way she could help stop this disease from destroying another life.
The family requests that, those who are willing, make a donation in her memory to their local chapter of the ALS Association.
Mom lived her life unapologetically..for good or bad, right or wrong. She was gloriously ballsy, fantastically crazy, fire and brimstone, PERFECTLY unapologetic...she was our mom, and we loved her.
The final time mom was in the hospital...she was so damn pissed..pissed at fate for taking her life out of her hands, pissed at the disease for taking everything, pissed at her body because her mind knew exactly what she wanted to say but her hands couldn't follow orders, pissed at everyone because she had to rely on everyone to do the smallest tiniest things... She was justifiably PISSED..she grabbed her pen and pad and wrote the last completely legible, beautifully perfect sentence I would ever get to read from her..she slammed the pen down and looked at me ..full of sad, terribly, sorrowful rage..waiting for me to read it. When I did, I laughed and cried simoltaneously because it was both perfectly, unapologetically my mom AND 100% accurate.

One final note, I'm almost done....dear, kind reader... In my final goodbye; I promised my mom I would write a glorious ending to her story with a spectacular tagline... I hope I have already accomplished the former; for the latter Im going to UNAPOLOGETICALLY ("ya get that shit from me gal" (I know momma)) share that single line she wrote that day
"THIS WHOLE THING SUCKS DONKEY BALLS!!!"

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In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to The ALS Association.

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