A Tribute to Kathryn Luther Henderson and William T. Henderson – Longtime Members of the Atla Community

In July, Atla was informed that the estate of Kathryn (Kathie) Luther Henderson and William (Bill) T. Henderson bequeathed a $125,000 partial distribution to Atla.* Kathie passed away on August 18, 2022 and was predeceased by her husband Bill. Both finished their careers as faculty in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

They were long-time members of Atla and supported Atla with annual gifts. This last gift is just the final testimony to how important Atla was in their lives. 

They were devoted to several causes in librarianship. In 2001, the Alpha Chapter of Beta Phi Mu established the Kathryn Luther and William T. Henderson Award in recognition of the high esteem in which they were held and to inspire future generations with their example (Kathie was a founding member and the first national secretary of Beta Phi Mu). They were also committed to the iSchool at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where Kathie received her AB in History and English and a BS and MS in Library Science. In 2019, the Mildred M. Luther and Kathryn Luther Henderson Professorship in Preservation and Technical Services was established by her sister Mildred Luther. 

At the start of Kathie’s career in library science, she served as a serials cataloger from 1950 to 1953 at the University of Illinois Library. She then moved to Chicago, where she was a circulation librarian (1953-1956) and head cataloger (1956-1965) at the McCormick Theological Seminary. In 1956, she and Bill returned to Urbana.  

Despite that relatively short period of their lives in theological librarianship, Atla became their home and a place for community — both personal and professional. They were lifelong members of Atla, joining in 1958 and continuing their membership through 2020. During their early years as members, Kathie served as Consultant on the ALA Catalog Code Revision Committee and on the Cataloging and Classification Standing Committee. They both regularly attended the Atla Annual Conference, their first being the 1958 conference held at Boston University School of Theology, and continued to attend long past their retirements. You might say that while they moved on from a professional context in theological libraries, they never moved out.  

That is the role Atla has played in many lives and careers. Atla is not just a professional association. It is an organization where relationships are established with opportunities to serve the organization and each other. In my own career I’ve been a member of several professional organizations, but none has offered the opportunities to almost immediately begin serving on committees and initiate collaborative projects with colleagues. 

Their gift to Atla is unrestricted. The staff of Atla, however, believes that their example argues that it should be restricted by the association as a contribution to the Endowment Fund. They looked to the future, whether through endowed awards or professorships. They believed in an institution that provided community, opportunities for service, and excellence in librarianship. Their gift demonstrates their confidence in Atla’s future. An Endowment Fund contribution acknowledges this and demonstrates Atla’s commitment to planning for the future of the association and the professional development of its members. 

As the former chair of the Endowment Committee, I also encourage you to consider annual gifts to the Endowment Fund — modest gifts made over several decades can become substantial — and the naming of Atla’s fund as a beneficiary of your own estate. By engaging in such efforts together, our impact can truly be incredible! 

*This tribute was approved and encouraged by the estate’s attorney, who spoke of Kathie and Bill’s commitment to Atla. Other tributes can be found here and here. 

Image sourced from this obituary.