Jeanette Farrington Henig

Jeanette Farrington Henig, 98, passed away peacefully May 8, 2020 with her daughter Claudia by her side. Jeanette is survived by her four daughters, Jeanette (Don) Sawyer, Gretchen Nelson, Candace (Mike) Henig-Monroe and Claudia Henig, four grandchildren – Melissa (Renell) Sawyer and Farish (Steven) Sawyer, Samantha (Kirk) Tunnecliffe and Elizabeth (Jim) Chandler, and six great-grandchildren: Alaina and Evan Chandler, Ryan and Noah Tunnecliffe, and Sawyer and Isaac (Farish) Mark. She was predeceased by daughter Betina Henig (2013) and husband Dr. Benjamin Elmore Henig (1998) as well as an infant son.

Jeanette was born January 29, 1922 in Lansing, Michigan to Hilda and Harris Farrington but spent most of her life in Grayling, raising her family in the former Hanson house and maintaining a much-loved cabin on the Au Sable River. In 1944 she completed her nursing degree at Harper Hospital in Detroit, where she met her husband, Dr. B. Elmore Henig. They married in November 1944, and after a brief stay in San Antonio and Detroit, she and her husband moved to Grayling in 1950.

Jeanette was active in the community, serving as the chairperson of the Crawford County American Cancer Society and volunteering with the Red Cross. A lifelong Lutheran, she was a founding member of the Mt. Hope Lutheran Church in Grayling. She was a competitive bridge player and golfer and loved skiing and other winter sports. In the 1950s, she sat on the board of the Grayling Winter Sports Park.  In recognition of her contributions, May 16, 1974 was proclaimed Jan Henig Day by then-mayor Derek McEvers. While living in East Lansing, she also volunteered with WKAR radio as a reader of the news for the blind.

Jeanette loved a full house, and with five daughters, an open door for their friends, never hesitating to put out one more plate for dinner, and a penchant for entertaining, her home was rarely quiet.  She welcomed her sons-in-law into the family and liked nothing more than having her extended family splashing in the pool at the cabin and preparing meals for as many people as showed up. Jeanette was a skilled quilter and expressed her creativity in many ways, including hooking rugs and knitting, and she never tired of trying out a new stencil on the walls when no one was looking. 

Special thanks to the staff of the Brook for their care and support as well as to Kathy Dandy   for being such a good friend and companion.  A private graveside service will take place at Elmwood Cemetery in Grayling. Donations in Jeanette’s memory can be made to the following: American Cancer Society, Mt Hope Lutheran Church, and The Brook of Grayling.

Arrangements entrusted to Sorenson-Lockwood Funeral Home.