LANSDOWNE – ALDAN HIGH SCHOOL
GOLDEN FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY REUNION 2006

Class of 1956
"Lords & Ladies"

www.lansdownealdan.com
Lansdowne, PA

Henderson, Letitia

This biography of Tish Henderson is submitted in loving memory of an old friend.  Tish and I were close friends from the 5th grade at Highland Avenue through high school.  Finding her again was one of the blessings of my life.  It was as though the 40 year lapse in our communication had just melted away.  Needless to say, losing her again was a tragedy.  Submitted by Bob Houck. 

Leticia Henderson Bingham

Tish Henderson graced the halls of LAHS with a cultured, warm and witty personality.  She had the ability to make strangers feel welcome in her presence.  As a singer (“Kiss Me Kate,” ”’The Desert Song,”) and a member of the tennis team, the Garnet & Gray staff and numerous school committees, she left an indelible impression upon the hearts of her friends.

Upon graduating from Penn, where friends and classmates included the future actress Candice Bergen, she married LAHS classmate Bill Bingham. They lived in Aldan while Bill attended medical school at Jefferson and at the Philadelphia Naval Yard while he fulfilled his five year commitment to the Naval Medical Corps.

They then moved to northern New Jersey and New Haven, CT, where Bill completed the residencies required for board certification as a neurosurgeon.  Their two daughters, Sarah (Sally) and Kate, were their mother’s pride and joy.  Both girls grew up to become strong, successful and independent women.

As a doctor’s wife in LaCrosse, WI, Tish was active in the affairs of the community.  She was a leading member of the League of Women Voters and was elected to the local school board.    As a matter of principle, she was proud of the fact that she and several other board members were impeached by the voters for their activist approach to issues involving needed improvements to the school system.

After eight years in LaCrosse, the Bingham family moved to Connecticut and Texas as Bill pursued his medical career.  When she and Bill divorced, Tish remained in Midland, TX where she received her masters in fine arts management degree from Texas Tech University.  With her daughters in college (Wisconsin and Georgetown), she relocated to semi-rural Guilford, CT where she purchased a charming New England cottage. 

Tish was soon employed as an administrator and counselor by the graduate school of the University of Hartford, and enjoyed supporting and assisting its students from around the world. Later, as editor of the university’s marketing and communications department, she became the voice of the school’s institutional memory.  Her writing skill and fact-checking abilities were relied upon by a broad cross-section of the university community.

Tish’s interest in the arts was broad-ranging, from painting and sculpture to drama and music. She was an active participant in numerous university and community activities.  Her forceful, articulate, witty and well-reasoned opinions were sought and appreciated by colleagues and friends alike. Her impressive collection of sterling silver was the result of many weekend hours spent scouring flea markets and yard sales.

After successful foot surgery in the summer of 2002, Tish was stricken by a rare and rapidly progressive lung disease currently known as AIP.Unlike other better-known pulmonary infections, AIP has no known cause and is extremely resistant to medical treatment. Despite world-class attention by the staff of Yale-New Haven Hospital, Tish died on October 28, 2002. Her daughters and her friend Bob Houck were by her side.