Deceased 06/03/2019
Todd Maxwell Henshaw, son of Nathaniel and Barbara Henshaw, was born on November 19, 1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. From a young age, Todd was a curious and precocious individual. He was an exchange student in Austria as a teenager and excelled in youth theater.
After graduating from Thomas A. Edison High School in 1969, Todd studied government at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. It was a Minnesota’s Lake Calhoun where Todd met Mary Nygaard, and the two later raised three daughters together. Todd earned his Juris Doctor at Washington University in St. Louis in 1976, where he served as editor of the Washington University Law Quarterly.
Todd was a distinguished lawyer for over three decades. He was a member of the Tulsa County and Oklahoma Bar Associations, and his career spanned both bankruptcy law private practice and corporate litigation at James, Potts, and Wulfers. Todd was a diligent servant to his clients and partners and consistently delivered lawyer jokes to any willing audience.
Todd was a devoted father to his daughters: Adrienne, Natalie, and Olivia. He was a talented photographer and videographer, dutifully capturing and cataloging volumes of the Henshaw family’s most cherished memories. Todd reveled in making things for his loved ones: photographs, musical instruments, knife handles, hand-woven potholders, expertly grilled hamburgers, and so much more.
Following his retirement, Todd moved to Savannah, GA, to be closer to his daughters, Natalie and Olivia. Todd died peacefully on June 2, 2019 in Savannah. He is survived by his daughters; Adrienne Henshaw (and fiancé Daniel Bucknam), Natalie Henshaw (and husband Matthew Weems), and Olivia Henshaw. He is also survived by his sister and brother in law, Janine and Kirk VanValkenburgh; and his brother, Blaine Henshaw. He has three nieces and one nephew.
Comments
I have a nice memory of Todd. During one of the lovely classical music concerts that Carleton provided, I noticed the guy sitting next to me had brought his knitting. I joked with him that perhaps he could teach me to knit, which he immediately offered. I never took him up on it, but I thought later, what a smart way to meet women.
I remember Todd sharing, as a freshman, that his father back in Tulsa had not been real keen on him attending a liberal arts college. In the true sense of “liberal arts,” Todd sampled a wide range of Carleton campus life with panache. He did not sport a plume (like Cyrano), but his wide brim black hat, often paired with denim overalls, was his signature style on campus. Among many other activities, he did theater at Carleton (Richard II?) even before the new (now old) theater was built. He had a contagious sense of fun and a wide range of friends.
Todd was a singular character at Carleton, willing to give his opinion on things, whether popular or not. Coming from Oklahoma, he didn't shy himself around people who thought Oklahoma was hick, because he certainly was not, though sometimes he played that up so he could dig at people who didn't give him slack for it.