Rayetta Kathleen Henson

Rayetta K. Henson, 92, who retired in 1988 as sales director of Greenbelt Homes, Inc. (GHI), died Dec. 15 after a long illness at the home of her daughter in Margate, FL.

Mrs. Henson, born Rayetta Kathleen Spickler, was the daughter of the late Paul Angle Spickler and Norma Virginia Hovis Spickler of Hagerstown, Maryland, where her parents ran a small delicatessen. She met and married the love of her life Carroll L. Henson shortly before World War II.

The couple moved to Greenbelt, Maryland, in 1949. She began working for GHI in the early 1960s. During her career as secretary, then as sales director, she welcomed many new members to the cooperative, making them feel comfortable and at home in their new and growing community.

Following her retirement, she worked as a sales assistant for a local real estate firm and a real estate development company. In 2000, she moved to Florida to spend more time near her daughter. Mrs. Henson liked to begin each day reading her bible verses, listening to a Christian radio show and taking the daily bible quiz.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Carroll L. Henson, in 1966. She leaves behind her daughter Bonita K. Hoke (Bob), of Margate, Florida; son, Jay C. Henson (Erin), of Greenbelt; three grandsons --Robert Hoke, Lance Hoke and Ryan Hoke; several great-grandchildren; and her two cats.

Services will be private with interment at Rest Haven Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland.