Alexander D Henderson, Jr

Early life

Alexander D. Henderson was born on February 16, 1895, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Alexander. D. Henderson Sr. and Ella Margaret Brown. He was the grandson of Joseph Henderson (pilot) and brother to Girard B. Henderson.

In 1909, the family moved to Suffern, New York. Young Henderson spent most of his early life in Suffern, in the large Georgian house on the hill fronting the Nyack Turnpike in New York. In June of 1914, when Henderson was 19, his father took the family on a two-month vacation-business trip to Europe. They saw the beautiful fields of flowers and bought essential oils from the French. The family also visited the oil factories that made the perfume for the California Perfume Company.

Military

From 1912 to 1915, Alexander attended the New York Military Academy, a boarding school at Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, just south of Newburg. In 1916, Alexander attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and belonged to the ZETA Chapter of the PSI Upsilon Fraternity. By midyear, he decided to leave Dartmouth and volunteer for the U. S. Army during World War I at the Student Officer Training Camp in the Ramapo, New York precinct.

Because of his military experience while at the New York Military Academy, he became a Lieutenant in the Cavalry, stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was also stationed at Company D, Hughes High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

California Perfume Company

Henderson started working for the California Perfume Company in 1919 in the Shipping Department. On February 14, 1920, Henderson married Mary Barnes Anthony at her parents Ridgewood home in New Jersey. They had two children, Alexander D. Henderson III and Mary Ella. By 1925 Henderson had become Vice President and a Director of CPC. Mary and Henderson were divorced in Las Vegas in 1935. In 1936, he married Lucia Maria Ernst, whom he met at CPC. On March 9, 1946, he and Lucy had a son, A. Douglas Henderson who was born in New York City.

On December 17, 1935, Ella B. Henderson, Alexander D. Henderson, and Girard B. Henderson, created a holding company called the Alexander Dawson Inc., which was named after his father, Alexander D. Henderson, Sr. It was incorporated in Trenton, New Jersey. ADI is still in existenace today and is located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On October 6, 1939, The California Perfume Company changed its name to Avon Products Inc. In 1951, Henderson retired from Avon and moved to Hillsboro Beach, Broward County, Florida. Henderson and his brother continued to serve on Avon's Board of Directors.

Politics

Henderson was the Mayor of Hillsboro Beach, Florida for six consecutive years (1958–1964). In 1958, the Florida Municipal Record reported “Mayor A. D. Henderson was elected Mayor for a third straight term in the Town's general election.”

Philanthropy

Henderson was well known in South Florida for his philanthropic work in support of the Henderson Clinic in Fort Lauderdale. In 1960, Henderson gave a generous amount of his Avon stock to the Henderson Mental Clinic of Broward County for emotionally disturbed children in Fort Lauderdale. The clinic was renamed Henderson Clinic of Broward County in 1961.

The A. D. Henderson Foundation was founded in 1959 by Henderson and his wife, Lucy E. Henderson. The foundation continues to support efforts furthering the goals of family planning, affordable day care, and education for all children. Today, his son, A. Douglas Henderson runs the foundation, along with a Board of Directors.

Henderson made significant contributions needed to start the Saint Andrew's School, an Episcopal school for boys in Boca Raton, Florida. In August of 1960, Henderson offered $375,000 to open the school for 100 students in the fall of 1961.

Education

Throughout his life Henderson gave generous support to educational institutions. He was active in establishing (1953) and supporting the Hillsboro Country Day School in Hillsboro Beach and the Saint Andrew's Episcopal School for Boys in Boca Raton. He contributed generously to the Saint Andrew's establishment including the administration classroom building, Henderson Hall.

Death

On July 8, 1964, at age 69, Henderson died at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The New York Times covered his death: "Alexander D. Henderson of Hillsboro Beach, Fla., a director and former vice president of Avon Products, inc., cosmetics company, died Wednesday in New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. He was 69 years old."

Henderson's body was shipped back from the Waterman Funeral Home in Boston to the Kraeer Funeral Home in Pompano Beach, Florida. He was interned at the Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens Central in Fort Lauderdale in Mausoleum Unit 1, Section No. 67, South. His wife, Lucia Ernst Henderson is buried in the same Crypt.

Post-Death

On September 30, 1965, his wife, Lucy E. Henderson, donated $750,000 to the Florida Atlantic University Endowment Corporation in memory of her late husband, Alexander D. Henderson. On December 1, 1968, the A.D. Henderson University School at the Florida Atlantic University College of Education was dedicated in his honor. The school was made possible by a gift to the state and Florida Atlantic University from his wife, Lucy E. Henderson.

The Alexander D. Henderson University School is a public elementary and middle school (K-8) and legislated school district operating as an educational laboratory on the FAU's Boca Raton campus. On December 15, 2004 the Alexander D. Henderson School was officially recognized as one of 239 Blue Ribbon schools in the United States, and one of only five in Florida.

On April 19, 1967, the Chapel of Saint Andrew, located on the campus of Saint Andrew's School in Boca Raton, Florida, was dedicated in memory of Alexander D. Henderson. The Chapel of Saint Andrew is an Episcopal Church.