Who was Jessamine Smith
Henderson?
Jessamine S. Henderson was an adult educator by vocation
and avocation. For 33 years, more than half her lifetime,
Mrs. Henderson volunteered her expertise, her efforts, and
her time tirelessly to the establishment, governance and
operation of the Somerville Adult Education Council. Her
service to the Council was the longest of any of its
members, from the Council's beginning in 1948 until its
dissolution in 1982.
In those years, Mrs. Henderson served as President, Vice
President, Secretary and Treasurer of the Council Board of
Trustees, as well as the chairman of various committees. In
the years following the Council's dissolution, Mrs.
Henderson aided the Hunterdon County successor adult
education organization as a teacher of Somerville history
and also as a registration volunteer.
Jessamine S. Henderson subscribed fully to adult
education's motto: "Learning is Lifelong." On July 26, 1986,
Mrs. Henderson and her husband Richard were tragically
killed in an automobile accident. It is the purpose of this
fund to carry on and perpetuate the spirit of Jessamine S.
Henderson, who dedicated so much of her life to adult
education in the Greater Somerville area. |