St Mark’s Anglican Church is hosting a sale of the Rev Jenny Henson’s belongings today. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
TOM TAYLOR
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Nine months after the Rev Jenny Henson’s tragic death in a Carterton crash, her children are donating most of her belongings to her church.
Henson’s children Stuart, Julie, Geoffrey, and Kirsty had kept in close contact with St Mark’s Anglican Church since her funeral in June last year. Now they had decided to sell the family home.
St Mark’s people’s warden Kevin Jelley said Henson’s children had been through the house and taken any sentimental items before donating the rest to the church.
The church would sell the donated items at a “Jenny Henson Estate Market Day” in the church hall from 9am today.
Jelley said the sale of Henson’s belongings would help keep the church running and pay for some outstanding maintenance tasks. However, it would also act as a memorial of sorts.
“I think our parishioners would be the first ones in the door, wanting to hang on to something as a memory of Jenny.”
A large assortment of items from the house had been donated, from rocking chairs to bookcases, along with a mountain of books to fill them.
“You could set up another house, basically,” Jelley said.
The Rev Jenny had married, baptised, and consoled families at funerals at St Mark’s for more than two decades.
She also ran the midweek service alongside the Rev Maggie Smith.
“She’s given a lot of years of looking after people in different ways,” Jelley said. “Jenny was involved in so many things in the town, and she was just loved by everyone. She had a beautiful nature.”
Jelley said Henson had touched many people’s lives as a nurse, reverend, and choir singer. Her death had come as a shock to the entire community.
“That particular day, she just left pilates and drove around the corner, and this idiot got frustrated being stuck in traffic, as you do in Carterton nowadays… He just pulled out and wham, killed her.”
At a High Court hearing last month, the 48-year-old man charged with the manslaughter of Henson was denied electronically monitored bail.
