1942-2026
Cathy Kay Franklin Henderson passed away after a recent illness at Newton Medical Center on August 3, 2026. She was 84.
Cathy was born January 11, 1942 in Sterling, Colo., to Gerald and Golda (Fowler) Franklin, the oldest of three children. Beginning life in Iliff, Colo., she grew up in numerous towns in Nebraska, then in Syracuse, Kan., where she graduated high school in 1960. She was inspired by a flyer to attend Wesley Hospital School of Nursing in Wichita, where she graduated in 1963.
She married Lynn D. Carter, an Annapolis Naval Academy graduate and a U.S. Navy officer, on December 26, 1964, in Syracuse. Her life with Lynn included travel all over America as well as foreign assignments, and two sons, Scott M., born in 1968, and Andrew L., born in 1972. Lynn retired from the Navy as a lieutenant commander and moved the family back to Syracuse in 1974 with plans to take over the Carter family farm, but he died of cancer in 1978. Cathy was working at the Hamilton County Hospital and raising two boys with the help of her parents and in-laws until she was introduced to Gerald “Gerry” Henderson, himself a widower with two children, John L. in 1976 and Barbra in 1978. Cathy completed a credential of advanced studies in patient care administration from the University of Minnesota public health school in June 1981.
Cathy and Gerry married July 5, 1981. The combined family lived in El Dorado, where Gerry was a high school principal. Cathy completed her bachelor of science in nursing from Saint Mary of the Plains College in Dodge City, in December 1985. In 1987, Gerry’s work brought the family to Topeka. Cathy continued her career, primarily in nursing homes as a staff director, until she switched to teaching nursing at Kaw Area Vocational Technical School (now Washburn Institute of Technology.)
Cathy and Gerry moved to Marion, Kan. in 1998. He became superintendent of Marion-Florence Unified School District 408, and she worked as a nurse with a local Head Start office. Both were members of Marion Presbyterian Church. After their retirement and through their work with the church, they both took leadership positions in what became the Marion County Food Bank. Cathy was the manager of the food bank in its various locations, dispatching phone calls from donors and neighbors alike, as well as establishing operational standards for all volunteers.
The family is grateful to her friends at the Marion County Food Bank, the Marion County Senior Center and the Marion Presbyterian Church for their support and being a second family to Cathy and Gerry.
Cathy was preceded in death by Gerry, her husband of 43 years, in November 2024, her son Scott Carter, in June 2021, and her parents Gerald and Golda Franklin. She is survived by her brother Gerald Franklin, Jr. and his wife Linda, sister LoJean Franklin Oleen and her husband Jan, sisters-in-law Rhonda Henderson Purcell and Diane Henderson, sons Andy Carter and John Henderson, daughter Barbra Henderson White and husband Adam, grandchildren Kathlynn Carter Neufeld and husband Tyler, Elizabeth Carter, Herschel Carter, Henry White and Norman White, and great-grandson Julian Scott “Jude” Neufeld.
Memorial services will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, August 29, at Marion Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Marion County Food Bank, via marioncountyfoodbank.com, or the Marion Presbyterian Church at marionpresbyterianchurch.com. Memorial donations can be sent to the church at 610 E Lawrence St., Marion KS 66861, with checks marked “Memorial.”
