David Henderson’s Blog

Sometimes I think that I know, what love’s all about, and when I see the light, I know I’ll be all right. Love lasts forever.

My Mother Joan Coale Henderson.

Joan Henderson Memorial Video from David Henderson on Vimeo.

Joan “Joanie” Coale Henderson, 80, passed away suddenly on November 9th, 2008.

Predeceased by her late husband, David Sr. in 1990 and her son Jonathan in April 2008. Joan is survived by her children, David Henderson, Jr., Susan (Henderson) Tyler, Jeffrey Henderson, and six grandchildren. Joan will be greatly missed by many other close friends and extended families.

Joan was born on August 16, 1928, in Towson, Maryland. She was the youngest daughter of Francis and Edmund Starr Coale. Married in 1951, Joan was the loving wife of David E. Henderson, a very successful television broadcast executive and former CEO of Outlet Broadcasting Company. That 40 year broadcast career saw the Henderson family make numerous moves from television market to television market as David climbed the corporate ladder - from Philadelphia, PA to Westfield, NJ, to Wellesley, MA, to Berwyn, PA, to Ruxton, MD, to Oyster Bay Cove, NY, and finally to East Greenwich, RI in 1973. With every move Joan designed, built and decorated brand new homes for her family, making sure to keep similar designs so her children would feel at home.

Joan was a pioneering broadcaster and talented actress in her own right. Her television career started on a live variety show on WMAR-TV in Baltimore in 1949. In 1951, while working on another live television show on WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, she met and married a young television director, David Henderson. Throughout the 1950’s Joan worked on numerous live television shows and with some very soon to be famous television personalities. She worked with Ed McMahon, who went on to the Johnny Carson Show, Jim McKay, who went on to become an ABC Sports legend, and Dick Clark of American Bandstand legend. Joan appeared in live TV commercials on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand in the mid 1950’s. In 1956, Joan went into labor with her first child, David Jr., while on live television!

The next 20 years saw Joan raising 4 children, making 6 moves, designing 6 homes and doing lots of local community theater. Then in the late 1970’s Joan returned to television as co-host of the first PM Magazine Show with Charlie Jefferies on WJAR-TV in Providence. In the early 1980’s Joan went on to be Entertainment Reporter for WLNE-TV, Rhode Island channel 6.

Joan tragically and unexpectedly lost her husband David in 1990 just 3 days after a family Christmas. From the mid 1990’s on Joan enjoyed life as a loving grandmother to David III, Coale, Weller, Sophie, Phoebe, and Paige, to whom she was known as “Noanie”. She also had a devoted companion during these years, William F. Buckley, of Wakefield, RI, who became an important part of her life and family. Joan was also blessed with the incredible care given to her over the years by Wanda Bonacore of Carolina, RI. She too, has become a part of Joan’s family.

In April of this year, Joan lost her 2nd son Jonathan after a 9-year courageous battle with cancer. This past summer, Joan celebrated her 80th birthday with a wonderful weekend with all her family and a lovely party with her closest friends at the Dunes Club, where she has been a member for over 30 years She made a heartfelt and very inspirational speech about her loving son Jonathan and his amazing cancer battle. It was by far her finest hour!

Joan will be remembered as a loving wife, a wonderful mother, a loving grandmother, a talented actress, with two amazing television careers and a lifetime of Community Theater. She was a woman of enormous talent and passion with endless energy for love of family and love of life. She will be greatly missed. As her loving husband, David, coined the phrase, she truly was our “Joanie Only”.

Tweet This Post