Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Mary Katherine “Kae” Henderson passed away Oct. 1, 2023, at her home in Hood River, Ore. Kae was born June 18, 1936, in Dayton, Ohio, to Raymond John and Mary Louise (Perdue) Sommers. She had one older brother, Jack Sommers, whom she was very close with. Growing up, she lived in Portland, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif., ultimately ending up on the Oregon Coast in Waldport, where she graduated from high school in 1954.
She married Phil Jensen in 1955 and they had three children together, Roger Phillip, Vikki Lynn and Jakki Renee. She lived with her family in Eugene, Ore., for four years while Phil went to the University of Oregon. There she managed a fitness center and also taught dance classes at Arthur Murray School of dance. She was a beautiful and accomplished dancer and she retained her passion for dancing throughout her life. "Dancing with the Stars" was one of her favorite shows and she never missed an episode. They made their home in Hood River in 1960 with Kae as a full-time homemaker and Phil carving out his place in the family business Luhr Jensen and Sons. During this time, she was also a Den Mother to a local Cub Scout Troop and worked on the Barry Goldwater campaign.
In 1967, she remarried to Dr. J. Allan Henderson. Allan had three children from a previous marriage, James A. Henderson Jr., Susan Loree Henderson and Philip Gibson Henderson. They were now a large blended family and shared many occasions when they were young with family trips to Wallowa Lake, the Oregon Coast and the Ashland Shakespeare Festival. Immediately after their marriage, Kae worked in Allan's medical practice.
After a few years, she took a different direction after having some success investing in real estate, and became a licensed Realtor in Oregon and Washington, working first for Hershner & Bell and then for Glenn Taylor. She loved this career and was very successful at it, earning many awards for her sales and service. She also invested in real estate during this time and owned some rental properties in the Hood River area.
Kae was an amazing chef, and put together elaborate dinner parties and she and Allan always hosted an annual Christmas gathering with music, food, and creative entertainment.
She also loved to garden and she and Allan planted a gorgeous rose garden in the yard. This was after many trips to the Portland Rose Garden picking out the exact varietals she wanted to grow. She was a member of the Hood River Garden Club and always looked forward to entering her roses in the Hood River County Fair for judging. She proudly displayed her winning ribbons in her home office.
She was also very crafty and enjoyed painting, scrapbooking, and calligraphy. She would hand make cards for all occasions and enjoyed creating unique pieces for friends and family. Some of Kae’s hobbies and activities she enjoyed were snow skiing, hiking, camping, aerobics, and dancing. In the 70's, she and Allan put in a tennis court on their property and loved inviting friends over for a competitive game of tennis. Kae also enjoyed the opera. She and Allan had season tickets to the Portland Opera every year and loved making a night out of driving to Portland (often in treacherous conditions) to enjoy and evening out with a stylish dinner followed by a 3 hour or more opera performance, arriving home well after 1 a.m. They did this well into their later years and never missed a performance. Puccini was her favorite!
She had a passion for travel and together with Allan, they traveled to more than 20 countries, including China, Hong Kong, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Egypt, Turkey, England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, India, Japan, Russia and more. Friends described her as beautiful, elegant, smart, and kind, with a witty sense of humor.
Kae is survived by James A. Henderson, Jr. (Nashville, Tenn.); Susan Loree Henderson (Grady, Denver, Colo.); Philip G. Henderson (Therese, Bend, Ore.); Roger Phillip Jensen (Devie, Portland, Ore.); Vikki Lynn Claflin (Kenny, Hood River); and Jakki Renee Jensen (Tom, Portland, Ore). She is preceded in death by her parents and husband Dr. James Allan Henderson.
A celebration of life service will be held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Anderson’s Tribute Center, 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, with a dessert reception to follow. She will be laid at Idlewilde Cemetery of Hood River.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
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