Obituary of Blaine John William Henderson

June 28, 1960 - May 24, 2023

Age 62, beloved husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. After 4 years living with cancer, Blaine passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Wednesday May 24th, 2023 in the Saint John Regional Hospital where he was lovingly cared for by the many doctors, nurses and staff. We thank all of you- your compassion will not be forgotten.

Born and raised in Saint John, Blaine was son to Donna (nee Marr) Henderson and the late Gordon Henderson. He is survived by his wife Mary (nee O’Brien) Henderson and daughter Allie Henderson, his mother Donna Henderson (John Randon), his brother Jay Henderson (Vero Long) and their two children Sofia and Juliette and his brother Robert Henderson (Tracy Melvin) and his two daughters Kelsy and Kayla- mom to Lexi. Blaine was brother-in-law to Susan O’Brien-Doty, her husband Jim Doty and uncle to their three children, Grace, Issy and Gregory as well as brother-in-law to Danny O’Brien, his partner the late Susanne Shaw and uncle to their daughter Alexandra O’Brien.

Blaine was a devoted and loving husband to Mary and was the proudest father around to the apple of his eye, Allie. Blaine cherished their time together especially their Saturday morning drives to the City Market, all the summers watching Allie and her cousins and friends play in the pool and especially the big hugs she gave him followed by her infectious laugh. Mary and “Cutes” were married for 22 years and while Blaine was certainly known as the quieter side of the relationship, his quick wit matched Mary’s more than most knew. Blaine, Mary and Allie built a beautiful home together in Quispamsis where Blaine’s love of lawn care and scoring the best finds from the Canadian Tire flyer were an essential part of their weekend activities. Blaine’s brother Jay consulted on all matters of vehicles and transportation, of lawn and garden and electronics in general. With a deep respect for one another, the two were the best of friends living just a few blocks from one another most of their adult lives.

After 21 years working alongside his father, a time from which he has many fond memories, in 1997 Blaine took over as the third generation of Hendersons to run Dean’s Meats, one of Saint John’s longest standing businesses in the Saint John City Market. His brother Robbie worked closely with Blaine on and off over the years making it a true family business. From the raised stand on the south side of the City market, Blaine saw the comings and goings of Saint John daily life for 38 years and in doing so made many life long friendships. Blaine was a very respected and admired business person but also a kind and compassionate employer with many of his employees who worked through multi generations counting themselves as friends. Blaine loved to golf and has many wonderful memories of golfing with Mary and especially of his golf trips with his close friends Bobby Ramsay, Freddy Ramsay, the late Richard “Smokey” Smith, and Big Bernie Desmond.

Take comfort knowing that Blaine spent his final days happy, loved and surrounded by so many family and friends that there were moments we worried we’d be punted from the Regional for disturbing the surrounding rooms. Words cannot express the gratitude Blaine felt towards Mary’s support circle including her lifelong friends, her sister and brother and her Kennebecasis Regional Police Force co-workers for the amount of love shown through this difficult time in their lives. Blaine adored Mary and Allie more than anything and to know that they have so much love and care surrounding them was one of the reasons he was able to leave this earth in peace. 

Blaine was unbelievably grateful to all the nurses and staff at the Oncology and Palliative care units at the Saint John Regional and to the all the doctors who supported him:  Dr. Samantha Gray, Dr. Amanda Caissie, Dr. Paul Keyes, Dr. Rob Thompson, Dr. Darren Ferguson, Dr. Brian Archer, Dr. George Kolyvas, Dr. Naj Attitbib, Dr. Steve Robinson and Dr. Christian Mackin.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (634-7424). A visitation will take place at Brenan’s Funeral Home on Friday, May 26th from 3-7pm, where a Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 27th at 10am. A reception will follow on-site at Brenan’s. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society and have a piece of chocolate in Blaine’s honour. For those who wish, condolences may be made by visiting www.BrenansFH.com.