Obituary: William H. Henderson, philosophy professor at Miskatonic University

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Arkham Gazette

There is no hiding behind a podium. Despite being the only object at the front of a classroom, it is the center of attention, making it rather perfect for William H. Henderson, Miskatonic University philosophy chair for more than 40 years.

Mr. Henderson, of French Hill, impressed his fellow professors and students over the decades with a professional teacher's demeanor, mixed with a strong dose of humor and wit. Professor Henderson passed away early this morning following a heart attack at St. Mary's Hospital. He was 83.

Mr. Henderson started with the university in 1947, as one of the final recruits of Professor Warren Rice, who was "desperately trying to improve" the department after World War II, recalled Dr. Oliver Updike, a former English professor who joined the same year. The pair would stay throughout many nights, working on new ideas for their respective classes. Henderson became one of the few professors who could break up strong-willed guest lecturers.

Roger Throckmorton, a professor who joined the philosophy department in 1963, was friends with Mr. Henderson for many years. On one trip to New York, Mr. Henderson went into a costume shop and emerged wearing a wig and beard, and tried chatting up a student professor from Barnard College while in disguise.

On the same trip, Throckmorton said, Mr. Henderson decided to swim across the East River and made it, unharmed.

Mr. Henderson's mischievous side remained throughout his life, said Gary Taylor, a professor and former head of the university's anthropology department. "Ask some people what their favorite holiday is, and some would say Thanksgiving, others Christmas or Easter. His favorite holiday was Halloween."

That side may be one reason students took to Mr. Henderson, Taylor said. Being a serious scholar -- even as a teenager -- is not easy at that level, with great pressures and anxieties about papers and speeches. Philosophy teachers have to be honest with students -- telling them if they have what it takes for a career in philosophy -- while also giving them aid.

Mr. Henderson had "a very special personality and students who studied with him didn't want to study with anyone else," Taylor said.

Mr. Henderson was born in Ipswich in 1922, public records state. He attended Miskatonic University, then went on to the U.S. Navy, honorably discharged in August 1944.

He originally intended to teach psychology, but Professor Rice chose him to teach philosophy instead, placing another professor in the psychology department.

Mr. Henderson was a bit eccentric, which garnered more fascination than aversion, Throckmorton said. Taylor also recalled how his old friend used his mind. He said Mr. Henderson also had a gift for remembering odd details, such as phone numbers, for decades without ever writing them down on paper.

"He would kid around, writing the number in the air, and from then on it was in his mind," Taylor said.

Mr. Henderson was the last of his family line, surviving his wife and children by more than twenty years.

Visitation is from 10 to 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Whitechapel Mortuary, 581 W. Church St., Arkham, with a service to follow. Interment will follow at Christchurch Cemetery.