Helen L. Henderson, 89, passed away April 8, 2024.

The youngest of two children, Helen was born to O.D. and Elsie Tyson in Bartow, FL, on June 9, 1934; growing up surrounded by friends and family who would always hold a special place in her life, they would eventually settle in Winter Garden, where Helen graduated from Lakeview High School in 1952.

As a young woman and wife, Helen moved to Rapid City, SD, where she would begin a seventeen-year career at Johnson Machine, at the same time raising a growing family that would come to include two children.

The years would see Helen return to Florida, once again close to family and friends (old and new) where she enjoyed the next chapter of her life in Port St. Lucie, before finally retiring - her time divided between summers in Rapid City and winters in Lake Havasu City, AZ.

When she wasn't visiting with neighbors or enjoying a walk with her Corgi (Fannie), Helen loved to travel and welcomed adventure, always eager to share the story behind some picture she'd taken or the latest addition to her varied collections which she'd found along the way.

She was preceded in death by her parents and step-mother (Nettie), her brother Oliver, husbands: Rob Johnson, Bill 'Red' Farnsworth and Rudy Henderson; and is survived by her children, Doug (Gayle) Johnson and Marsha (Rob) Hengen, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as so many with whom she shared a deep and loving friendship throughout her life.

"It is perhaps a more fortunate destiny to have a taste for collecting shells than to be born a millionaire."

Robert Louis Stevenson