Mary “Carol” W. Henkel, 96 of Rock Hill, SC, went to be with her Lord and Savior on June 9, 2025, at Wayne T Patrick Hospice House in Rock Hill, SC, secure in her faith, surrounded by love, and wrapped in the prayers of her friends and family.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Woodland United Methodist Church, 801 N Cherry Rd, Rock Hill, SC, on Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 2p.m., with a reception to follow. An inurnment at Memory Lawn Cemetery in Natchitoches, LA, will take place at a later date.
Born in 1929 in Sarasota, FL, Carol was active in the church all her life, first as the daughter of an Episcopalian Priest and later as the wife of a United Methodist pastor.
Carol graduated from Louisiana State University in 1950 in where she studied pre-med and received her B.S. in Chemistry and Physics. The day after she graduated, she married the love of her life, Ed Henkel. They were married 57 years and had five children. Initially she was a full-time mother, and later worked for Health and Human Services. In addition, she spent countless volunteer hours with Scouting and Eastern Star and founded a Parkinsons Support Group and later a Henkel Cousins group that met annually for 20 years. Carol touched many lives and was deeply loved and respected by all who knew her.
Carol was preceded in death by her husband of almost 58 years, Rev C E Henkel, her parents, Rev H W Weller and Mary Weller of Natchitoches, LA, her brother Bill Weller and his wife Jeanne. She is survived by her 5 children, Edward Henkel and his wife Mary of Stuttgart, AR, Ann Eulert and her husband Curtis of Cañon City, CO, Janet Henkel and her husband Clint Smith of Tillamook, OR, Mary Morrison and her husband Rob of Rock Hill, SC, and Rachel Spruill and her husband Mitch of Cape Coral, FL, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Carol will be remembered for her faith, her ready smile, and her overwhelming kindness. Always faithful in her prayer life, each day she drew a card from the basket of cards that were sent to her the previous Christmas, prayed for that person and then sent them a card with the note that said “I prayed especially for you today”. She also sent out weekly updates to friends & family, initially on paper, then by email when her life was transformed by the gift of a computer and internet access. In her later years, when people asked her how she was doing, she always replied, “Just right.”
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to either: Woodland United Methodist Church, 801 N Cherry Road, Rock Hill, SC 29732 or https://www.woodlandumcrockhill.org/give or to Hospice and Community Care, PO Box 993, Rock Hill, SC 29731 or https://www.hospicecommunitycare.org/sanctuary-garden-1-1
Condolences may be made at www.greenefuneralhome.net