San Francisco Chronicle 5.24.2021

My father, Dr. John C. Henderson, the beloved San Francisco physician, passed away on May 14^th after a long fight against cancer. He was ninety-two, surviving his dear wife Johanna and his daughter Janet.

 When used in reference to my father, the word “beloved” is more than a platitude. His friends, family, colleagues, and patients described him as kind, selfless, a real gentleman, the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and a saint - he was loved. One of the last physicians in San Francisco to make house calls, he often treated elderly patients in their homes even though many of them did not have the means to pay for his care. He did break a few phones in the middle of the night but he was rewarded with chickens, objects d’art, and dinners for our whole family in Chinese restaurants.

 A physician in private practice for over sixty years, he was a graduate of Stanford Medical School, did his residency at the New York Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia Campus, and specialized in Internal Medicine. He was affiliated with such notable institutions as UCSF and CPMC and was the Medical Director at The Heritage on The Marina throughout most of his career.

Of course, to me he was the man who’s sense of humor was so dry, for years I believed flying squirrels flew through our living room at night. He was the man who interjected nonsense while reading to me to see if I was paying attention. He was the man who walked my dog when I was away at college. He cooked pancakes with me over an open fire on trail rides through the Sierras, had me to dinner with his cronies at The Sequoias “cool table,” and walked me down the aisle. I will miss him.