CAROL HARTLEY HENDERSON

(nee Gilchrist, April 19, 1941 – December 22, 2025)

Elegant. Kind. Courageous. These are the words shared by friends and family to describe Carol Henderson, who died suddenly on December 22, 2025, at the age of 84.

Carol was born in Bournemouth, England, during the Second World War. Her parents, Betty Gilchrist and Peter (Alec) Gilchrist, a highly decorated RCAF officer, immigrated to Canada and lived on air force bases in Ottawa and Rivers, Manitoba, then to Metz, France, and Montreal. Her parents ignited Carol's lifelong independent and adventurous spirit.

While working for the Dean of Medicine at McGill, she met Dr. John Henderson, whose wit, charm and gentlemanly manner captured her interest and affections. Before contemplating matrimony, she travelled by ship around the world, visiting India, Vietnam, Japan and western Europe – a daring journey for a young woman in the early 1960s.

Returning to Montreal and reuniting with John, they were very happily married for the next 57 years. They made their home in Montreal, then Ottawa, where they raised three children, David, Robert (Federica Medina) and Julia (Alexander Konstantinou). Her grandchildren, Giovanni, Lorenzo and Sebastiano in London and Ilana and Phoebe in New York City, brought her an abundance of joy.

Carol was a passionate gardener and avid reader who loved Jane Austen. With a determined and enterprising spirit, she became a skilled tennis player and cross?country skier, launched a small greeting card business and took woodworking and welding classes. Carol was devoted to community service, volunteering with the Rockcliffe Book Fair, the Ashbury Guild, the Canadian Cancer Society, and Andrew Fleck Children's Services.

Carol and John travelled widely to the Galapagos, Colombia, much of western Europe and the UK, and lived in Palo Alto while John completed a sabbatical at Stanford. She was among the few to witness two Coronation processions on the Mall in London, the first in 1953 and again in 2023, even after the debilitating effects of a 2009 stroke and a 2020 fall that left her in a wheelchair.

Carol was most content at home and in her garden of more than 50 years, patiently cultivating a quiet, colourful sanctuary that brought calm and wonder to all who visited.

This spring, Carol will be laid to rest at St. Catherine's Church in Cheshire, England, beside her beloved husband, John. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Bartholomew's Church in Ottawa on August 28th.

May the brightness of Carol's magnanimity, kindness, and courage illuminate the darkness of our grief and guide us in the years to come.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind or Andrew Fleck Children's Services. For details, please visit hpmcgarry.ca.