Leon Henderson, retired President of Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School, passed away on Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was 68.
“Leon was a dynamic person who had a vision that was service based. His faith in the
Lord compelled him to sacrifice in order to serve appropriately,” Preston Thomas, former Cardinal Ritter College Prep boys basketball coach and longtime friend. “
During his career in education, Henderson served as a teacher and administrator at Cardinal Ritter College Prep for 30-plus years and for 10 of those years he served as
President.
“Leon Henderson was the soul of Cardinal Ritter Prep,” said Carmele Hall, Cardinal Ritter College Prep’s first President. If you were a student in his Leadership class you developed a strong sense of self-worth and knowledge of history as a Black young man or woman. Leon was a man of faith. Every morning when he entered the school, his first stop was the chapel where he would offer a prayer for wisdom and guidance for what he would face that day. Over the 40 years that I knew Leon, he became more than a colleague; he was family, my other brother. I thank God for the opportunity to work with him and to call him my friend and my brother”.
Henderson was born on August 4, 1947 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Catholic schools in Cincinnati from elementary school through college and was awarded an honorable discharge from the United States Navy in which he served from 1967 to 1973. Henderson received an undergraduate egree in Sociology (minor: Philosophy/Theology) from Xavier University in Cincinnati and received his Master’s in Sociology from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
In addition to his tenure at Cardinal Ritter, Henderson served as the Dean of Student Affairs/Development at Wilberforce University (the oldest Historically Black University in the nation) for two years (2000 –2002) prior to returning to Cardinal Ritter College Prep. Henderson also served as an instructor and administrator at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana for 14-plus years during the summer months.
Over the years, Henderson served as President and Vice-President of the Parish Council for St. Alphonsus Liguori Parish (his parish), was appointed as a Trustee on the Board for Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and the St. Louis Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and served as the St. Charles Lwanga Center’s Crossroads Coordinator.
Mr. Henderson also served on the following boards: Community Women Against Hardship, North Grand Neighborhood Services, the Institute for Peace & Justice in addition to numerous roles within the Archdiocese of St. Louis and other faith-based, community and educational initiatives too numerous to name.
“He touched the lives of not only students and faculty, but also parents and the community at large,” Hall said.
Funeral services for Henderson will be held on Friday, January 8, 2015 in Baton Rouge and a memorial service will be held in St. Louis at Cardinal Ritter College Prep on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 2:00 pm. For more details, contact Cardinal Ritter College Prep at (314) 446-5500.
