Troy Shane Henderson

Troy Shane Henderson passed away unexpectedly on June 14, 2024 at his home in Corliss Township, rural Perham, Minn., and passed into the Lord’s care just after 6 a.m.

Troy was born May 23, 1971 in Perham, Minn. to Dennis “Denny” and Lynnette (Menze) Henderson. He spent his first few years in rural Parkers Prairie before his parents moved to Otto Township, rural Ottertail in 1977. He was baptized (June 13, 1971), confirmed (April 28, 1985), and educated (1977-85) at St. John’s Lutheran Church and Parochial School of Ottertail. He attended kindergarten in New York Mills Elementary and graduated from New York Mills High School in 1989.

After graduation, Troy continued his education at Alexandria Technical College for a two-year course in Diesel Mechanics. He utilized these skills throughout his life in many of his jobs and also at home.

Troy worked many jobs to provide for his family, often being away during the week, including working as a diesel mechanic for CAT, a farm truck driver for Nelson Farming Association, a welder at Homecrest Industries, a motorcycle mechanic at DLC Cycle, an over-the-road truck driver for Daggett Trucking, a carpenter for Lausten Construction, and as a horizontal directional driller for Alan Peters Construction, Arvig Enterprises and most recently for Lake States Construction. He also owned and operated his own carpentry business, Henderson Construction, in the mid-2000s.

Troy met Jessica Anne Bay of rural New York Mills and they were married July 6, 1996 at Finn Creek Museum. They had two children, Jasmine Ann and Tanner Ford. They lived on Troy’s late grandparents’ farm in rural Henning before purchasing a home in Corliss Township in April 1999. Jessica passed away on December 30, 1999, which left Troy a single parent with two small children at home.

Troy began a friendship with Lisa Olsen in 2000 and she moved from Arizona to Minnesota to care for Jasmine and Tanner. They were married on June 23, 2002 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in New York Mills. They had three children: Tucker Dixn, Shiloh Lillian, and Tait D.

Troy felt closest to God in the outdoors. He grew up with a .22 rifle in his hands chasing every animal he could find across his parents' and grandparents’ woods of Otto Township and everywhere in between. He enjoyed fishing, hunting ducks, geese, grouse, and squirrels, but he especially loved deer hunting, which he would take off work to enjoy the entire rifle season each year.

Troy was a vivid storyteller and loved to recount the stories of his own past hunts, those with his lifelong friends Kyle Henderson, Paul Hoyhtya, and Eric Olsen as well as those of his father, uncles, and grandfathers. Stories about crossing the Inman Swamp to get to the ‘Bend in the Ditch,’ hunting on the Henderson and Menze 40s, and shooting birds in his Grandma Menze’s woods were some of his favorites and elicited lots of laughter.

It was important to Troy that he passed along his love for the outdoors to his children through shooting, hunting trips, river and ice fishing, and foraging. He loved to hunt for morels, leeks, and fiddlehead ferns and more recently became interested in the medicinal uses of the natural world.

Troy was a tradesman and a craftsman. He often pointed out roads, houses, and buildings he had worked on over the years. When he was laid off for the winter, he toiled away in his shop working on new projects each year. He made wooden feathers, pistol grips, deer skull carvings, fur hats, wooden crates, tin punch artwork, wooden mushrooms, shotgun shell wreaths, trapper baskets, and he restored old axes, as well as many other one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

Hours and hours of Troy’s life were spent working on snowmobiles in his home shop. He loved to collect, fix up, and compete with them in area one-lunger races. Memories of grass drags, lake racing and cross-country jaunts were abundant. His collection totaled 86 snowmobiles at one point.

Troy lived his life hands-on and wasn’t afraid to wade into a tough situation to get a job done. He was a Jack-of-all-trades and expected hard work from those he passed his knowledge on to. He could be tough, stubborn, and downright ornery at times, but he was also generous, self-sacrificing, and always willing to lend a helping hand in times of need. He was a loving husband, proud father and grandfather, and loyal friend.

Troy was looking forward to many upcoming experiences in his life which we will miss sharing with him. Simple pleasures of holding his granddaughters, Millie and Clover, fixing up cars, dirt bikes, and everything in between with Tait, an upcoming vacation with Lisa, his class reunion with the Pigs ‘89, and spending time with the rest of his family and friends. He will be and already is sorely missed by all who knew him.

Preceding Troy in death are his parents, Denny and Lynnette; sister, Denise; and wife, Jessica.

Surviving Troy is his wife, Lisa Henderson; brothers, Derek Henderson of Seattle, WA, and Wyatt Henderson of Fargo, ND; children, Jasmine Henderson of Deer Creek, Tanner Henderson of Deer Creek, Tucker Henderson of rural Ottertail, Shiloh (Chris) Cooper of rural Ottertail, and Tait Henderson at home; granddaughters, Millie and Clover. A large host of friends and relatives join the survivors in their grief.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Troy Shane Henderson, please visit our floral store.