Barbara Yvonne Henderson

Barbara Yvonne Henderson of Grayson, Georgia, was born in Kingston, Jamaica on April 18,1942. She attended Cedar Valley All Age School in St. Thomas and went on to successfully complete the Jamaica Local Examinations, and General Certificate of Education (GCE) in English language, English literature, and music from the University of London. She graduated from Shortwood Teachers’ College and started her teaching career at Mico Practicing School, then continued at Tarrant Secondary School in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1977, Barbara left Jamaica with her two daughters, Angela and Alison, and joined her mother and stepfather, Keturah and Alpheus Morrison, and her five siblings in Waukegan, Illinois. She worked in the Claims and Statistical Accounting Departments respectively at Allstate Insurance Company in Northbrook, Illinois. During her tenure at Allstate, she completed an Associate in Applied Science degree in data processing and went on to become a computer programmer. After working 10 years at Allstate, Barbara left to pursue her childhood ambition to become a nurse. As a Professional Registered Nurse with certified oncology credentials, she worked at various institutions in Illinois - full-time in Oncology and ICU at Lake Forest Community Hospital in Lake Forest; PRN in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion; and with Alzheimer’s patients at The Wellshire in Lincolnshire. In 2006, Barbara was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the bone marrow. She retired in 2007 and moved to Georgia, where she lived in Grayson with her daughters and granddaughter until her passing on February 28, 2019. She is preceded in death by her father Cleveland Henderson, stepfather Alpheus Morrison, sisters Jennifer Morrison and Carol McCalla. She is survived by her daughters Angela Grant and Alison Merant, granddaughter Felicia Grant, mother Keturah Morrison, brothers Winston Henderson, Errol and Colin Morrison, sister Vilma Barr, nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. A.S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home and Crematory.