Wincie W. Henschen's Obituary
Wincie Henschen, 96, of Lebanon, Missouri, died Friday, October 19, 2012, in Fort Myers, Florida.
She was born August 16, 1916, in Latta, South Carolina, to Thomas and Eunice (Cain) Watson, the second oldest of fourteen children. Her family moved to Fort Myers, Florida when she was eight years old and the building boom was in full swing. The Great Depression hit soon after, and they struggled to make ends meet farming, etc. Wincie moved to Chicago, Illinois during the depression and worked as a nanny, cook, and companion for wealthy Chicago families. She married John Henschen on August 17, 1936, and they had four children, Thelma, John, Emily, and Carol. Wincie became an expert, professional seamstress, having altered some outfits for Helen Hayes to wear in one of her movies, and was the head buyer of lingerie and accessories for an upscale women’s clothing store in Fort Myers for twenty years.
She was a very active member of the Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) and was a state level officer. She was also active in the Republican Party as an elected official. John preceded her in death on August 15, 1974. In 1991, she moved to Missouri to live with her youngest daughter, Carol and her husband, Frank, and help raise her grandchildren. They moved to Lebanon in 2000. She remained active and healthy, baking cookies, regularly attending her book club and (until a few years ago) water aerobics. She loved her church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon, where she also attended weekly Bible studies and the LWML.
Wincie is survived by her four children, Thelma Lacy, of Fort Myers, Florida, John Henschen, and his wife, Brenda, of Clarksville, Tennessee, Emily Mahan, and her husband, Bart, of Fort Myers, Florida, and Carol Roam, and her husband, Frank, of Lebanon, Missouri; eight grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; three brothers; three sisters; a number of nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 23, 2012, at Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida. Burial will be at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens.
Memorial contributions may be made to the LWML at Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, or Trinity Lutheran Church in Lebanon, and can be left at Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Lebanon, Missouri.
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