Obituaries

Theaoplis Purnell Henderson

Photo of Theaoplis Purnell Henderson
Theaoplis Purnell Henderson, 71, of Little Rock passed away on Monday, October 2, 2017. He was born on February 1, 1946 in Newport, Arkansas to the late Theaoplis and Gladys Henderson of Newport, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his, brother, Don Henderson; son, Martin Henderson; and son-in-law, Erick Bolden. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Drue Silla Coleman Henderson; daughters, Tara Bolden of Dallas, TX and Yendel Jones of Little Rock; uncle, Billy Ray Whorton; brother, Dwight (LaTricia) Henderson Little Rock; sister, Minnie Henderson of Little Rock; grandchildren, Tory (Pavia) Jones, Alexander Jackson, Artoria Allen, Brianna Jones, Madison Henderson and Ciara Henderson; great-grandchildren, Morgan and Mia. Purnell received Christ at First Baptist Church in Newport, Ark. He graduated from Branch High School and he went to serve his country in the United States Air Force. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Philander Smith College where he sang in the choir and a MBA from Angelo State University. He was the President of the Lyons Club in San Angelo, TX. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha PI Lamda Chapter. He served as a volunteer for the Community Service District for Boys Scouts of America. He worked as an Air Traffic Controller in San Angelo, TX where he was the first African American controller and in Little Rock. Higher education was his passion and he worked as a Financial Aid Officer at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and ended his career at Pulaski Technical College as Vice President of Instruction. He was a charter advisor for Phi Theta Kappa at Pulaski Technical College. He was a member at Saint Mark Baptist Church where he served as a deacon and worked in many ministries. Years later he changed his membership to Longley Baptist Church. He started Joshua Generation, a mentoring program for young men at St. Mark Baptist Church and Longley Baptist Church. Purnell spent countless hours volunteering and mentoring other young men and women. Henderson family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to Dr. Lee Walker, Pretrescia Walker and staff at Walker Internal Medicine. Visitation will be from 4-5 p.m., Sunday, October 8th, at Ruffin & Jarrett Funeral Home, 1200 S. Chester Street, Little Rock, Ark. Services will be Monday, October 9th, at 10 a.m. at Longley Baptist Church, 9900 Geyer Springs Rd. Little Rock, Ark. Interment will follow with honors at Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery, 1501 Maryland Ave., NLR.

Published October 7, 2017

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