02-09-2011, 07:27 PM
Mlive.com
HARTFORD — Amy Henslee was a petite woman but, somehow, she was usually the loudest one cheering for her sons' sports teams.
"She was like dynamite," her close friend Michael Williamson said. "She was just so little and just so explosive."
On Thursday, Williamson joined hundreds of others who crowded into the Hartford Federated Church to say goodbye to Henslee at the funeral service for her.
The funeral procession later wound through downtown Hartford on Red Arrow Highway to Hill Cemetery in Lawrence Township. There, family members buried Henslee under a cloudless, sunny sky.
Henslee, 30, and Tonya Howarth, 36, were both killed Jan. 24 in Bangor Township. Junior Lee Beebe Jr., who is a cousin of Henslee's husband, was charged in the two women's deaths. Howarth's funeral service was Wednesday in Benton Harbor.
Photographs of Henslee flashed on the screen in the church — holding one of her babies, smiling with family in front of a Christmas tree, wrapping her arm around her husband, James.
"Amy Sue, my wifey, my baby, my best friend," James Henslee said as he read a letter during the funeral that he wrote to his wife. "I will never forget the best 12 years of my life — all the laughs, the smiles, the hugs and the kisses, the long car rides, the camping trips and all the great things we shared in our lives."
The Henslees had been a close couple. On his lunch break, James would often come home to eat with his wife and watch television. When he left, Amy would stand by the window and blow him kisses goodbye.
James Henslee told those gathered that when he looked at their sons, Jared, 11, and Jonah, 7, he saw his wife's eyes and smile.
During the service, the boys sat close to their father and grandmother.
"That smile you passed on to our boys along with those puppy dog, brown, beautiful eyes
— for that reason, I know I'll always see you,” said James Henslee, 32. “We're soulmates for life."
Many remembered Henslee as a nurturer, someone passionate about caring for others.
Henslee, who graduated in 1999 from Hartford High School, got a certification in phlebotomy from Southwestern Michigan College and had worked for several years at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles. At the time of her death, she was a stay-at-home mom, but her goal was to eventually go back to school and become a registered nurse.
funeral, henslee, amy hensleeView full sizeMark Bugnaski / Kalamazoo GazetteThe body of Amy Henslee is led from Hartford Federated Church after the funeral today.
"She had the personality to be a nurse," Williamson said. "She was on her way."
James Henslee has said he plans to start a scholarship for aspiring nurses in honor of his wife.
Henslee, who was known for her infectious giggle and always seemed to be happy, enjoyed shopping with her grandmother, Louise McCoy, who lives in Dowagiac.
"I've lost my best friend," McCoy wrote in a poem that was read by another family member. "A light has gone out."
Above all, Henslee loved Jared and Jonah, her loved ones said.
"Anything she did in life was for those kids," said friend Shaun Russell, 33, of Coloma.
Family members acknowledged the national media attention and the outpouring of support for Henslee's family after she went missing Jan. 24. In Hartford, a small working-class community in Van Buren County, hundreds of people attended two prayer vigils and a fundraiser for the family.
"You have people all over this country that have been praying for this family and this community," said Bruce Dunford, a relative of Henslee's and pastor at First Baptist Church in West Bend, Wis., who officiated the funeral service. "What I've seen as an outsider coming in is a community coming together. That's a wonderful thing."
Henslee is also survived by her parents, Brenda and Robert Miston, of Dowagiac; her other grandmother Sue Miston, of Watervliet; and a brother, Bobby Miston, of Millburg.
Memorials for the Henslee and Howarth families are set up at Chemical Bank branches.
HARTFORD — Amy Henslee was a petite woman but, somehow, she was usually the loudest one cheering for her sons' sports teams.
"She was like dynamite," her close friend Michael Williamson said. "She was just so little and just so explosive."
On Thursday, Williamson joined hundreds of others who crowded into the Hartford Federated Church to say goodbye to Henslee at the funeral service for her.
The funeral procession later wound through downtown Hartford on Red Arrow Highway to Hill Cemetery in Lawrence Township. There, family members buried Henslee under a cloudless, sunny sky.
Henslee, 30, and Tonya Howarth, 36, were both killed Jan. 24 in Bangor Township. Junior Lee Beebe Jr., who is a cousin of Henslee's husband, was charged in the two women's deaths. Howarth's funeral service was Wednesday in Benton Harbor.
Photographs of Henslee flashed on the screen in the church — holding one of her babies, smiling with family in front of a Christmas tree, wrapping her arm around her husband, James.
"Amy Sue, my wifey, my baby, my best friend," James Henslee said as he read a letter during the funeral that he wrote to his wife. "I will never forget the best 12 years of my life — all the laughs, the smiles, the hugs and the kisses, the long car rides, the camping trips and all the great things we shared in our lives."
The Henslees had been a close couple. On his lunch break, James would often come home to eat with his wife and watch television. When he left, Amy would stand by the window and blow him kisses goodbye.
James Henslee told those gathered that when he looked at their sons, Jared, 11, and Jonah, 7, he saw his wife's eyes and smile.
During the service, the boys sat close to their father and grandmother.
"That smile you passed on to our boys along with those puppy dog, brown, beautiful eyes
— for that reason, I know I'll always see you,” said James Henslee, 32. “We're soulmates for life."
Many remembered Henslee as a nurturer, someone passionate about caring for others.
Henslee, who graduated in 1999 from Hartford High School, got a certification in phlebotomy from Southwestern Michigan College and had worked for several years at Lakeland Community Hospital in Niles. At the time of her death, she was a stay-at-home mom, but her goal was to eventually go back to school and become a registered nurse.
funeral, henslee, amy hensleeView full sizeMark Bugnaski / Kalamazoo GazetteThe body of Amy Henslee is led from Hartford Federated Church after the funeral today.
"She had the personality to be a nurse," Williamson said. "She was on her way."
James Henslee has said he plans to start a scholarship for aspiring nurses in honor of his wife.
Henslee, who was known for her infectious giggle and always seemed to be happy, enjoyed shopping with her grandmother, Louise McCoy, who lives in Dowagiac.
"I've lost my best friend," McCoy wrote in a poem that was read by another family member. "A light has gone out."
Above all, Henslee loved Jared and Jonah, her loved ones said.
"Anything she did in life was for those kids," said friend Shaun Russell, 33, of Coloma.
Family members acknowledged the national media attention and the outpouring of support for Henslee's family after she went missing Jan. 24. In Hartford, a small working-class community in Van Buren County, hundreds of people attended two prayer vigils and a fundraiser for the family.
"You have people all over this country that have been praying for this family and this community," said Bruce Dunford, a relative of Henslee's and pastor at First Baptist Church in West Bend, Wis., who officiated the funeral service. "What I've seen as an outsider coming in is a community coming together. That's a wonderful thing."
Henslee is also survived by her parents, Brenda and Robert Miston, of Dowagiac; her other grandmother Sue Miston, of Watervliet; and a brother, Bobby Miston, of Millburg.
Memorials for the Henslee and Howarth families are set up at Chemical Bank branches.