ROBERT HENDERSON

Robert Hill "Bob" Henderson 7/25/1946 ~ 7/15/2010 Bob, 63, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 15, taken too soon by a degenerative brain disease. He was a loving father, ferocious advocate, trusted adviser, and loyal friend.Bob was born in Pocatello, Idaho, to Robert Smith Henderson and Helen Hill Henderson. He was the 1964 valedictorian of Marsh Valley High School and graduated from The United States Military Academy at West Point in 1968. He served in the Signal Corps for two years before attending University of Utah Law School, where he graduated first in his class in 1973. He served in the Army JAG Corps for the next seven years at posts across West Germany, in Charlottesville, VA, and at Fort Lewis, WA. He earned an LLM from The Army JAG School in 1978, again graduating first in his class. Bob married Marguerite Marceau in May 1970 in Brooklyn, New York. They had two beautiful children, Justin Churchill and Sarah Elizabeth, to whom Bob was a caring, devoted father. He left the military in 1980 and began litigating in Salt Lake City, where he was affectionately known as the "Mad Dog" of the courtroom. Outside law practice, Bob seized his days. He read voraciously, especially Wambaugh, Grisham, stories of American ranchers, and struggles of Rumpole of the Bailey. He became a wine and beer connoisseur. He played tennis and golf terribly but poker and Scrabble expertly. He was cut from the Army basketball team by Bobby Knight, but he remained a hoops junkie who coached Salt Lake youth and high school teams to great success for a dozen years. He loved the Judge Memorial Bulldogs and the Runnin' Utes, and he maintained a dysfunctional relationship with the infernal Jazz, returning every year despite the heartbreaks. He was also a runner. Through the 1980's he was a fixture of local marathons, running 2:47 at St. George and sub-3:05 at Boston. He then found true joy in ultra-running long before books were being written about it. He finished over 40 of the West's toughest ultras, including the Wasatch Front 100-miler 15 times. Anyone who has run Utah's trails the last 22 years encountered Bob at some point along the way. Bob is survived by his former wife, Marguerite; son, Justin, and his wife, Heather Cassidy; daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Dr. Sean Collins; and the joy of his last three-and-a-half years: twin granddaughters, Gianna Rose and Lillian Josephine Collins. The family would like to express their gratitude to all the friends and family who supported us through the last few months of Bob's illness, and especially the kind and caring medical teams at Intermountain Medical Center. Funeral arrangements: Memorial services will be held at noon, Monday, July 19, 2010, with visitation hour from 11:00 a.m. to noon, at the Neil O'Donnell & Sons Mortuary, 372 E. 100 S., Salt Lake City. Burial to follow at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, T St. and 4th Ave. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a trust established in Bob's honor benefitting boys basketball at Judge Memorial: "The Henderson Family Foundation," Wells Fargo Advisors, Attn: Anthony Gardner, P.O. Box 340, Draper, UT 84020.