Larry Henderson

Larry Henderson passed away February 21, 2025 in Tucson, Arizona. Larry was a friend to everybody he met, and always ready to greet you with a joke or a bad pun! He especially loved April Fools Day, when he could regale innocent victims with outrageous tall tales of his deeds.

Larry was born in Bedford, Indiana, and later moved to Arizona, attending Tucson High School. He and Signe Kuhl went to the University of Arizona, before getting married on August 19, 1962. While in college, he worked in Yellowstone at the Hayne Camera Shop, and as a US Forest Service Tech at Roosevelt Lake in Tonto National Forest.

Larry was a lifelong employee of the National Park Service. He worked as a District Park Naturalist at Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon National Parks, and Chief Naturalist at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. He was on the Master Plan Team for Canaima National Park in Venezuela, and participated in a canoe expedition to the base of Angel Falls, the world’s tallest waterfall. He worked as East District Manager, and in Public Relations and Concessions Management at Mount Rainier National Park. While there, he climbed to the summit of Mount Rainier. He also watched the explosion of Mt. St. Helens from 30 miles away near Elbe, Washington. Larry was the Park Manager of Carlsbad Caverns National Park, and enjoyed evening off-trail expeditions in many of the caves throughout the park. He was Superintendent of Wupatki/Sunset Crater National Monument, and then Superintendent of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where he retired in 1999. Wherever he worked, he was an avid hiker - taking the opportunity to enjoy the backcountry and often taking off cross country to explore remote areas of the parks that he loved. He often could be heard whistling as he went on his way in town or countryside.

Larry was highly involved in many volunteer organizations wherever he lived, including the Methodist Church, Masonic Lodge, Lions Club, Association of National Park Rangers, and Association of National Park Service Retirees. After retirement, he became intensely involved in the volunteer activities in the city of Carlsbad and Eddy County, New Mexico. Larry was elected to the Carlsbad City Council and appointed to the Water Sewer Board. He was a funeral home service attendant with Denton-Wood Funeral Home for almost 20 years. He was active in the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce, including the Tourism Committee and the Chamber Board. He volunteered with the Carlsbad Foundation, Community Concert Board, International Cave Karst Foundation, Living Desert Museum, Horticultural Society, SE New Mexico Historical Society, Creative Arts Council, Hospital Auxiliary, Pecos River Committee, Library Board, and Carlsbad Beautification Committee. He was a 32nd degree member of the Masonic Lodge and a Masonic Shriner. Larry was an active member of the choir at the First United Methodist Church the entire 40 years that he lived in Carlsbad. He helped commissioning The Reader sculpture at the library, and the Jim White sculpture.

In 2009, the Carlsbad Community Foundation awarded him Humanitarian of the Year. In 2016, he received the Carlsbad Outstanding Citizen Award, and Larry Henderson Day was designated as Leap Day, February 29. In 2019, the Carlsbad Department of Development awarded him the Lifetime Achievement in Community Impact Award. 

Larry was preceded in death by his father, Eddy, mother, Eva June, his sister, Marcia Laspada, and grandson Zachary. He is survived by his wife, Signe; sons: Eric and wife, Patty and Scott and wife, Dawn, and grandchildren: Ashley and husband, Peter, Courtney, Nathaniel, and Heather.

A memorial service is planned in Carlsbad, New Mexico at 2:00 PM, on April 5, 2025 at First Methodist Church, 207 N. Halagueno Street.

Memorial donations can be made to the Carlsbad Community Foundation, Founders Fund, the National Park and Conservation Association, or First Methodist Church.