Orville Dewayne Henson, age 91, passed away peacefully June 20, 2024, with family by his side after a brief illness. He was born April 11, 1933, in Dalark, Arkansas, to John Hickley and Winnie Margaret Hinson Thompson.  Upon his mother's death when he was only 4 years old, he was adopted by his maternal grandparents, Joe Cephus "JC" and Adelphia "Delphia" Hinson.  Orville's name was spelled Henson like the younger children of JC and Delphia due to the translations of handwriting.

Orville attended various rural Hot Spring County and Malvern schools but left to join the US Navy at 17 where he served as a coxswain on a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) ship stationed in Norfolk, VA, with service in the Caribbean and Greenland during the Korean War.  He met his soon to be bride Mary Jane "Janie" Shipwash on shore leave in High Point, NC, at a square dance in 1952, and after many hitch-hiked rides from Virginia back to NC, they married on April 4, 1953.  After discharged from the Navy, he held varied jobs all over the country, but he told the most stories about his time at North American Aviation, plant 42, Palmdale, California, where he worked as a sheet metal mechanic on the XB-70 Valkyrie when others were building the SR-71 Blackbird. The entire family was able to witness the initial flight of the XB-70.  He later worked for General Electric at Edwards Air Force base at the time of the X-15 when Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and highest altitude.  He spent 6 months in the Philippines as a sheet metal mechanic on contract with the US Navy at Subic Bay, Manila, in 1967 while the family stayed in California, and eventually returned to his home in Malvern in 1971 where he ran the Mid-State Construction & Asphalt Plant for many years.  His favorite job was clearing land with a dozer before landing at Willamette Industries where he worked until he retired in 1997.  Orville was always reading at least one book, mostly westerns, but after retirement would read several at a time or one a day.  He loved to watch anything related to NASCAR, and with a nephew in the industry, he loved being in the pits to watch the races at tracks all over the south.  He loved to fish and being outdoors.  He and Janie traveled the US and abroad until their health kept them home.  In his retirement years he gained many friends, and he enjoyed telling his tales - some of them very exaggerated.  However, it is true that we took all our furniture and household items on vacation with us once (we were supposed to be moving from California to North Carolina but went back to the house we had just left) and we really did spend the night in a U-Haul trailer at the U-Haul lot in Albuquerque.

He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church of Malvern, where he opened the service with the welcoming prayer for many years until his recent health decline. He also enjoyed being a part of the Men's group and helping with the yearly holiday ham and turkey sales.  He was blessed with many close friends in his church family, as well as friends he made at the weekly prayer breakfast and staff at The Place restaurant in Malvern. He lived in the same house for 50 years and long-time special neighbors Wayne, Sandra, David and Wanda became part of his family as well.

Orville was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Janie, parents and grandparents, brother Roy Lee Thompson, 5 half-siblings, 12 adopted siblings, in-laws Jerry Jan Shipwash, Anne Shipwash and JD White, and grandsons Brandon Lambert and Blake Lambert. He is survived by daughters Sherry Murphy (Mike) of Thornburg, AR, and Deidre Connell (Tony Davis) of Cabot, AR; sons Gary Henson (Lynn) of Johnson City, TN, Terry Henson (Jackie) of Malvern, and Larry Henson (Joan) of Bush, LA;  sisters Faye White of Malvern, and Bobbie Ruth Guenrich (Jack) of North Little Rock, AR; half-sister Shirley Ann Janes (Homer)  of Alabama and sister-in-law, Ann Shipwash of Winston-Salem, NC;  grandchildren, Jason Murphy (Marla),  Shane Murphy (Kim), Michael Henson (Carolina), Elisa Henson-Williamson (George "Tee" Williamson III), Eric Henson (Sara Burt), Mallery Henson (Raychel), Brenesha Lambert,  Neal Clayton, Grant Clayton (Kelly) and Katherine Davis, plus 9 great-grandchildren, Chase Murphy (Kelli), Chandler Wilson (Craig) and Logan Murphy (Elena Hinojosa), Landry Henson, Creed, Crewe and Harper Lambert, William and Emily Clayton, and two great-great grandchildren, Carter and Nora Murphy, and his many nephews and nieces and cousins.

Please join us in celebrating Orville's life on Monday, June 24, 2024, at 10:00 AM in the chapel of J. A. Funk Funeral Home, with visitation after the service with Brother Andy Orr and Brother Robert Reid officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Paul United Methodist Church, PO Box 1374, Malvern, AR 72104, or the charity of your choice.

Special thanks to the staff at CHI ST Vincent Hot Springs ICU, 2nd and 5th floors, staff at Encore Healthcare and Rehabilitation, and Arkansas Hospice.

Online condolences may be sent via jafunkfuneralhome.com