Harry B. Henderson

Harry B. Henderson Jr. died in Croton on Hudson, N.Y. on Monday, Sept. 1, 2003.

He was born in 1914 and reared in Kittanning. Mr. Henderson was best known for co-authoring books on the history of African-American art with painter and collagist Romare Bearden. He recently submitted his last manuscript for publication. He graduated from Penn State in 1936. He worked for various Pennsylvania newspapers. Eventually, he became a freelance writer for national, general-interest magazines that included Colliers, Harper?s, Readers Digest, Argosy, Look and Coronet.

His best-known stories include a ride-along with a gypsy truck driver (Argosy) and a two-part study of Levittown as a mass-produced suburb (Harper?s November, December 1948). Often partnering with photographer Sam Shaw (1912-1999), he profiled performers like Frank Sinatra, Bert Lahr, Perry Como, Dizzy Gillespie and Martha Raye. He was active in labor politics as a member of the American Labor Party and a stringer for the New York Compass. He was also a science writer. He was a resident of Philadelphia; East Orange, N.J.; Queens, N.Y.; and Peekskill, N.Y., before moving to Croton-on-Hudson, in 1949. He was the first president of the Croton Caring Committee. In that capacity, he made many appearances at village board meetings. He lobbied for structural improvements in the Croton-Harmon railroad station after a friend died from a fall on its steps. He served as an advisor to the Bennett Conservatory of Music and the Croton Free Library. His reminiscence was featured on the front page of the centennial issue of the Croton Gazette (Feb. 12, 1998). Survivors include two sons, Albert Henderson of Milford, Conn. and Joseph Henderson of New York City, N.Y.; three grandsons, Christopher, Andrew and Theodore; and one sister, Mary Elizabeth Scahill of Kittanning. He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Beatrice ?Bea? (Conford) Henderson, whom he married in 1937 and who died April 22, 1988; one son, Harry B. Henderson III; one brother Frank; and one sister, Martha.