Bruce C. Henderson

Dr. Bruce Cleveland Henderson, 67, passed away on October 6, 2021, due to complications of esophageal cancer. A memorial service will be held in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church at 11:00am on Saturday, October 16. A private family gathering for the interment of ashes will precede the service. Officiating will be Rev. Alexandra Pappas. A reception will follow in the church dining room. Masks are encouraged during the service.
Bruce was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on August 11, 1954, to Ed and Virginia Henderson. He had a happy and carefree childhood, attending South Highlands Elementary School, Youree Drive Middle School, and Captain Shreve High School. He kept his friends entertained with water skiing escapades, youth group antics, and swaying carport walls while also excelling in his academic studies. In recent years, he could still name most of his classmates from the early days, and he has enjoyed reconnecting with old friends through social media.
As a National Merit Scholar, Bruce attended Southern Methodist University, graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in political science in 1976. He married Betty Heuer the same year before returning to Shreveport for medical school. He finished in the top of his medical school class as a member of AOA, completed an ophthalmology residency in Shreveport and a glaucoma fellowship at Emory in Atlanta, Georgia, and joined Ophthalmology Associates in Shreveport in 1986. He provided glaucoma care for thousands of patients across North Louisiana for 35 years, and he restored sight to hundreds more during mission trips to Haiti and Mexico. Dr. Henderson recruited his daughter to join his practice at the Highland Eye Clinic so he could impart his wealth of knowledge and innumerable tips and tricks for surgeries that he had perfected over the years.
Baptized and raised at First Presbyterian Church, Bruce was a dedicated member serving as a youth advisor, Sunday school teacher, Deacon, Elder, and Trustee. He was the resident comedian and devil's advocate in the Pathfinder classroom, and the de facto landscape architect for the Memorial Garden where he personally selected his own place of interment. He also played guitar for worship services and sang for many years in the church choir.
Bruce was involved in many civic and social groups in Shreveport. He served as a member of the board of the LSU Health Sciences Foundation and the Louisiana Association for the Blind. Bruce was President of the Demoiselle Club in 2002, and he reigned as Rex LXIV, King of the Cotillion in 2012. He was the event chair for An Evening of Healers in 2016, and he served as a case supervisor for the Volunteers for Youth Justice. He was also a member of various medical organizations including the Shreveport Medical Society, Louisiana State Medical Society, and American Academy of Ophthalmology.
A true renaissance man, Bruce C. Henderson knew so many things about so many things. He grew up reading the World Book Encyclopedia for fun, choosing whatever sparked his curiosity that day, and then studied each subject deeply until he mastered it with joy. He loved trivia nights and enjoyed quizzing his OR staff with musical trivia, always sharing random tidbits about the song or artist from various musical genres. Never one to sit still (because he would immediately fall asleep), Bruce was always working on a project. His favorite times spent with his children were helping with late-night, last-minute projects. His peak performance hours were in the middle of the night, when he produced pinewood derby masterpieces and blue-ribbon science fair projects for which his children gladly took credit. From building backdrops for church plays and creating elaborate haunted houses for school carnivals to designing his house on Railsback and handpicking the various flowers and trees that made his yard one-of-a-kind to transforming a dilapidated houseboat into a pleasant retreat on Cross Lake, he enjoyed being busy. After his cancer diagnosis, Dr. Henderson never mentioned slowing down at work, and he surprised everyone but himself by maintaining his normal clinic and surgery schedule until just three weeks before his death.
Bruce was preceded in death by his older brother and best friend, Bob Henderson of Houston, and his parents, Virginia and Ed Henderson, of Shreveport. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Betty Heuer Henderson, their four children and spouses, and their seven grandchildren: Ben and Arrie Henderson (Reid, Esa, and Whit) of New Orleans, Holly and Sammy Guy (Caroline and David) of Shreveport, John and Jennifer Henderson (Jack and Eli) of Houston, and David and Elizabeth Henderson of Gainesville, Florida. His children will cherish the hilarious late-night games of Balderdash, and his grandchildren will fondly remember their movie nights with Big B. Family was the most important aspect of Bruce's life, and he spread his love graciously.
He is also survived by wonderful cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews with whom he shared many happy times over the years, and by numerous coworkers and friends from near and far who laughed at his jokes and commented on his posts on Facebook. In memory of Bruce, his friends are invited to post their favorite memes and videos to his Facebook page to help us all laugh during this time of heartache.
The family would like to thank Dr. Anil Veluvolu, Dr. Richard Haynie, and the exceptional staff at Willis Knighton who provided his cancer treatments and his comforting care at the end.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Legacy Green at First Presbyterian Church, 900 Jordan Street, Shreveport, LA, 71101, or to a charity of the donor's choice. Those friends unable to attend the service may live stream from the First Presbyterian Church website at www.fpcshreveport.org.
"An ordinary man sees the world through his eyes; an extraordinary man views it through the eyes of others." – Colin Powell