It was a sad day this past Friday as news broke of the passing of John Henderson. He was often referred to as the oldest letterman. Henderson lettered with the Texas Longhorns back in 1935 as a guard for the football team. Each year from 1932 to 2019, Henderson attended at least one game per season. That streak ended this year. He was born in 1912 and lived to the age of 107. Along with his wife Charlotte, the couple was named the oldest living couple.
The Hendersons married in 1939 during the Great Depression and spent just $7 on the hotel room for their honeymoon. They later moved to Port Arthur, where John coached and taught at a junior high school for three years. He then took a job at Humble Oil and Refinery Co., later to become Exxon, where he worked for the next 36 years, first in the controllers department, and then as head of business services. The couple celebrated 80 years of marriage on Dec. 15, 2019.
A charter member of the Longhorn Foundation and longtime season ticket holder, Henderson would travel to Austin for football games and attended at least one for 84 consecutive seasons up until 2019. In 2009, he returned to Austin as the first resident of Longhorn Village, a retirement community for the school’s alumni, where he lived until his passing.
Texas recognized Henderson as the oldest living Longhorn Letterman during Texas’ win over Louisiana Tech in 2019. He also served as the Longhorns’ honorary captain prior to a victory over Kansas State in 2013. – Texas Sports
Congrats to our Longhorns – John & Charlotte Henderson – recently tabbed the World's oldest married couple by Guinness Book of World Records. A 1935 football letterman, John is also the oldest living Longhorn Letterman. @GWR#ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/nknMAlx84q
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) November 14, 2019
The Longhorn community mourns the loss of John Henderson. Rest in peace to an absolute Longhorns legend.