Harriet Anne Henderson

1966 - 2010

Mar. 21, 1966-Sept 27, 2010

Anne Henderson was 44 years old when she passed away at her home in Pasadena. For 15 years she had fought breast cancer with an indomitable will to live and to thrive in the life she pursued. Yet when knowing she could fight no more, she slipped away peacefully surrounded by a few faithful friends and devoted family members.

Anne was the younger daughter of Mary Alice and Joe Henderson of Santa Paula and was raised there where she attended the local schools from kindergarten through high school. Always one who pushed her mind and body to meet her high expectations, she graduated with the Class of '84 as Student Body President and Valedictorian. During her senior year she attended Girls' State and capped her four years of volleyball an all CIF selection and contributed to the team's CIF championship.

Anne attended Occidental College and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. For scholarship she was elected to Omicron Delta Epsilon, the Economics Honorary Society. In 1993 she furthered her education with a MBA from Bath University, England and years later she pursued a second advanced degree in International Economics at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and Boston.

She thoroughly enjoyed meeting and staying in contact with many of her international classmates at both institutions, especially Christine Beyer. Another California native, they came to be and remained devoted friends.

As an adult, Anne resided in the Los Angeles area. In 1993 she found her future career in a small, cutting-edge, consulting/software development company, Treasury Services Corporation (TSC). When TSC (later acquired by the Oracle Corporation) decided to establish a presence in the Asia Pacific region, Anne, with her then husband, Mike Willhelm, was sent to live in Australia. It was at this time that the 29 year-old bride discovered the cancer. Within days they returned to California. The disease had spread so quickly that she was given a 3 to 5% chance of survival.

Instead of surrendering, Anne threw down the gauntlet to fight it. She resumed her career by associating with another rising finance business called Digital Insight (DI). There she gained invaluable knowledge and experience in positions of administrative management. When her company was acquired by Intuit Inc. and became its financial institution division, Anne continued to have great success at various levels of executive positions. A recent recognition she and her team received made her most proud; they were granted a patent for a software program. Anne's last title with Intuit was Vice President, New Business Initiatives. Throughout these years she was fighting regular flare-ups of the cancer but continued to work undaunted. In fact, very few of her associates were aware of her medical history.

All the while Anne was remaining active in various organizations. One of her favorite was MOSTE, meaning "Motivating Our Students Through Experience" whose mission is helping underserved girls fulfill their dream of attending college. She mentored one young woman through her junior high school years, remained in contact with her through high school and was giving her guidance in selecting a college and career. She was on the Board of Directors of Team Survivor California, Los Angeles County Affiliate, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and willingly gave words of encouragement to numerous women coping with cancer.

Anne's favorite pastimes were sharing special occasions with her parents, devoting time to her sister Alice and being "Aunt Annie" to her children; visiting friends all over the world. She also enjoyed traveling to exotic places, biking, hiking, kayaking, visiting distant friends and most recently, photographing the beauties of Nature.

Anne is survived by her parents; sister, Alice, brother-in-law, John Billman, and their children, Logan, Glenn and Lita; her grandmother, Moya Henderson, Palm Springs; aunts and uncles, Bill Orcutt, Santa Paula, Robin and Marshall Orcutt, Arkansas, Moira and Steven Knox, Hawaii, Harriet and Lary Harris, Oregon, Lynn and Rick Henderson, Alaska, and Susie and Doug Henderson, Oak Park; numerous cousins and hundreds of friends.

In lieu of flowers, consider making contributions to two of Anne's favorite organizations: KIVA or TEAM Survivor Los Angeles.

"A Remembrance" will be held Saturday, Oct. 9 at 11 a.m. at the Universalist Unitarian Church, 740 East Main Street, Santa Paula with a reception following at the family home.