The Henderson family is particularly proud of one musical family member: Joe Henderson.
Angela Evans (pictured above, left) is a team member at Mercy Health – St. Rita’s Medical Center, working as an environmental services technician. Her uncle, Joe Henderson, passed away in 2001 but was a legendary tenor saxophone player.
Joe was born in Lima, Ohio as one of 15 children and started playing sax at a young age. During his expansive career he played with many great musicians, released several albums and was recognized with four Grammys. He even played saxophone at both of President Bill Clinton’s inaugurations with the president himself!
The community is honoring Joe’s legacy and contributions in several ways. First by renaming the Lima Senior High School auditorium “The Joe Henderson Auditorium,” and secondly with a glorious outdoor mural at ArtSpace, painted by Columbus artists Hakim Callwood and Bryan Moss.
Located in the alcove behind Cherry Alley, the mural at ArtSpace is a focal point for the community and all who visit this nonprofit organization dedicated to providing visual arts to all throughout the Lima area and beyond.
This month, Angela and many proud family members and friends attended the ribbon cutting and unveiling of the mural of her uncle. The event was held to coincide with his birthday, and they served a celebration meal and cake in his memory.
“This is a huge honor for my uncle Joe Henderson and the Henderson family,” Angela shares. “I was in awe, I had chills at seeing the mural. I was and I still am excited about it.”
Angela shares some favorite memories of Uncle Joe from when she was 14 in the summer of 1978.
“Two of his sisters, my aunts and I flew on my first airplane ride out of Detroit to San Francisco to visit Uncle Joe for three days,” she recalls. “He picked us up from the airport and we ate at a Chinese restaurant. The waiter tried to show me how to eat with chopsticks and to this day I still don’t know how.”
Angela continues, “his house was so big we all had our own rooms to sleep in. He showed us around the house and showed us where he taught in his studio. There was a nice size telescope in the huge master-size bedroom I slept in.”
St. Rita’s Medical Center also has a special connection to ArtSpace and we are thrilled to have a team member related to this local celebrity.
“We are so moved for Angela and her family to have this tribute at ArtSpace,” Beth Keehn, our director of government and external relations, shares. “ArtSpace has a special place in our hearts at St. Rita’s. They painted the murals in our hallways and they run our art therapy program in behavioral health. We also have two art galleries in the hospital curated by them, and during COVID-19 they did art therapy with team members.”
Congratulations Angela and her family on this lasting tribute to your uncle, we love it!
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