of Mountain Home, AR

December 1, 1927 - April 26, 2024

Dorothy Ellen Layfield Henderson, age 96, passed from this life on April 26, 2024, in Wetumpka, Alabama, surrounded by family. Visitation will be at Roller Funeral Home on Wednesday, May 15, from 12 noon until funeral service at 2 o'clock p.m.
Born on December 1, 1927, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, Dorothy was the eldest daughter of the late Octavia (Springer) and C.W. Layfield. The Layfield family moved to Mountain Home, Arkansas, in 1940 where they continued as dairy farmers. Dorothy and her four sisters attended the Buford school and Mountain Home High School.

Dorothy graduated in 1946 and went to work at the Baxter County Clerk's office. She married Baxter County native Ray Henderson on May 8, 1949. They later moved to Wichita, Kansas, where they both worked at Boeing. During this time, they became members of the Cleveland Avenue Church of Christ where Dorothy helped establish a Sunday Bible class for two-year-olds.

The family returned to Mountain Home in 1963 where Dorothy continued teaching Sunday school at College and North Church of Christ for many years. She cared deeply for children, regardless of how closely related to her they were and was always ready to regale listeners with funny or profound conversations she'd had with a little one.

Dorothy was an avid reader from her youth, and during the busy years of child rearing and working outside the home, she favored magazines, especially the jokes in Readers' Digest. We all knew if she burst out laughing while reading, she had read a joke that tickled her funny bone. From early childhood, however, Dorothy's great love was horses and all activities associated with horses. She was blessed with many opportunities to enjoy that great love. She and Ray were officers of the Mountain Home Saddle Club for many years and loyal supporters of local 4-H horse shows and youth rodeos. They were also always available for individual attention to young riders.

After moving to Montgomery in 2014, Dorothy had fewer opportunities for horseback riding, but continued to enjoy reading, often completing four or five mystery novels per month. She made new friends in Alabama, but never forgot her old ones. She kept a supply of greeting cards, stamps, and her address book on her breakfast table for sending cards to family and friends near and far. ''Spunky and ladylike,'' fiercely independent, and always dressed for the occasion, Dorothy gave us an example of a woman for all seasons.
Besides her parents, Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Ray, her sisters Betty Sutton, Mary Haney, and Ethel Flock. Survivors include her

sister Margaret Boughton of Topeka, Kansas, sister-in-law Marvine (Jerry) Hallman of Winnsboro, Texas; two daughters, Kathryn (Greg) Pauley of Frankfort, Kentucky, and Gayle (Tim) Perry of Wetumpka, Alabama. Grandchildren are Zach (Amber) Pauley, Leah (Brandon) Durant, Sarah (Michael) O'Dell; Ashley (Roger) Heim, and Amanda (David) Alford. Dorothy's great-grandchildren are Brooke, Tara, and Jackson Pauley, and Mackenzie Garber; Philip, Eleanor, Margaret, and Alice Durant; Elijah, Wriston, and Kieran O'Dell; Seth, Sam, Shade (Jade), Sackett, and Boone Bolding; Stalling Thrash (Carson Neighbors), Brody and Everleigh Alford. Great-great grandchildren are Clara and Joy Bolding. She also is survived by seventeen nieces and nephews whom she loved as her own and could recite where each one lived and the names of their offspring as long as she lived.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Baxter County 4-H, Children's Home, Inc., of Paragould, Arkansas, or Agape of Central Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama.

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