Adeline Shull Henderson

Adeline Shull Henderson, after a long and well-lived life, passed away peacefully in her sleep on February 28, 2020, age 95. She is survived by her son, Alex, her grandson, Ander and her granddaughter, Leslie, all of whom benefitted tremendously by her steadfast care, guidance and devotion. Adeline was a resident of Willow Valley in Willow Street, Pennsylvania and resided in the Millersville, Pennsylvania area for more than five decades. Adeline graduated from Penn State University and also held a Master’s Degree in English. She taught home economics for nearly 30 years in the Penn Manor School District. Generations of middle school students benefited from her support and teaching, as did many nephews and nieces in her close-knit extended family. Her Thanksgiving dinners for the extended family for four decades, and her Christmas cookie baking event with friends, were eagerly anticipated each year. Adeline was born on Bluebell Meadows Farm, Plumstead Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Minnie Yerger Shull and Arthur Shull. Due to heavy January snow blocking the roads, her father had to hitch the horse to the sleigh to bring the Doctor to the family farm for her delivery. She grew up on the farm, milking cows, gathering eggs, weeding the vegetable garden and doing all the chores necessary for a successful farming operation in the first half of the last century. Adeline is survived by her younger brother, Roy, who still lives at Bluebell Meadows Farm. Adeline began her education in a one-room elementary school where most of the students were her cousins of one sort or another. She graduated from Doylestown High School in 1943 and took a position as a reporter with the Doylestown Daily Intelligencer. She was assigned to the Courthouse beat, but older male reporters were assigned to cover the criminal cases deemed too much for her tender years. The paper was owned by U.S, Senator Joseph Grundy, a powerful national political force. He and the Editor of the newspaper were impressed with Adeline and arranged for her to receive a scholarship to Penn State University. Adeline’s mother was opposed to her attending College but yielded to Adeline’s entreaties and she entered Penn State in 1944. When after a few weeks at Penn State, Adeline became homesick and asked to return home, Minnie told her to stick it out, which she did, being elected as a Junior to the Educator Honor Society, Pi Lambda Theta in 1946. Adeline was the first in her immediate family to graduate from college. At Penn State, Adeline lived in the “Co-op”, where, over peeling potatoes, she met Alex Henderson, a Biology major from Plymouth, Pennsylvania. After graduation from Penn State in 1948, Adeline was employed by the Penn State Extension Service as an assistant home economics representative. In 1949, Adeline married her college sweetheart Alex Jr., to whom she was married for 61 years until his death in 2010. After the wedding, they moved to Wichita, Kansas. Adeline worked for the Kansas State University extension service in Sedgwick County and then taught English in a local high school. After some time at Penn State for graduate work, in 1954 they moved to Millersville where Alex was hired by what was then Millersville State Teacher’s College. After a brief stint as an RCA technician, Adeline stayed home with their son until he went to school in 1958, at which point she also went to school, as a home economics teacher. Adeline’s favorite Bible verse was Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” During her years in Lancaster County, Adeline was active in Bethany Presbyterian Church and the Bethany Women’s Association, serving the Church in many capacities. Among her most cherished activities were those with her sisters in the P.E.O., Lancaster Chapter AK, a philanthropic educational organization that provides need-based grants, loans and scholarships to young women. She was also active in the Millersville University Campus Club and was a member of the League of Women Voters and the Lancaster County Conservancy. Adeline enjoyed gardening and flowers and was a long time member of Longwood Gardens. Beginning with Pinochle in childhood, she enjoyed the intellectual and social stimulation of card games, particularly bridge. She and her husband Alex enjoyed hosting and traveling as Evergreeners and attending Elderhostels throughout the world. For many years after retirement, she spent much of the winter in St. John in the Virgin Islands, being visited by many family and friends. Due to Coronavirus concerns, the Memorial Service for Saturday, March 28, 2020 has been postponed. Services will be rescheduled and announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the P.E.O Program for Continuing Education, which provides need-based grants for women whose education has been interrupted, at the P.E.O. Executive Office, Treasurer’s Department, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312.