Property, lifesaving icon a ‘generous gentleman’
HE was an “average bloke” who loved his family, horse racing and the Mermaid Beach community, but John Henderson had “an above average impact”.
Friends and family paid heartfelt tributes to the real estate figure, who died on November 11 after a short illness, at a service at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Wednesday.
Son Luke said his father, known to his beloved family as Johnny, had “packed so much” into his 79 years.
“He was a proud man who achieved a lot,” Mr Henderson said. “Johnny was the most generous person. He loved making people happy, he loved giving gifts, telling people how important they were to him.
“With Johnny, you were never left wondering if he was interested in you or if he appreciated you. He made it abundantly clear.”
Mr Henderson said family was “the most important thing” to his father, who is also survived by his two other sons David and Andrew, wife Jan, brother Graham and six grandchildren.
“He was the rock of the family,” he said.
Mourners also recalled Mr Henderson’s love of horse racing, his success in business and his generosity towards local surf clubs.
Long-time friend and colleague Jeff Burchell said Mr Henderson was “a fountain of knowledge, with an amazing memory”. “It would be very rare that he didn’t know the history of a person or a family in Mermaid Beach,” he said.
REIQ chair Peter Brewer said Mr Henderson was an “absolute legend” who would be “sorely missed”.
“Hendo was one of the best,” he said. “He was an incredibly generous person, both inside and outside the real estate community. He was always very sharing. As a younger real estate agent
“I would often ... drive to the Gold Coast, just to get a couple of cupfuls of Hendo’s wisdom.
“He would share anything and everything about his business to help me grow my own personal business. I can’t thank him enough for that generosity of spirit.
“… He was just a really warm and generous human being who didn’t care whether you were the local garbo or a big hitter on the racecourse, he was going to care about you.”
Members of Mermaid Beach, Nobby Beach and Miami Surf Lifesaving Clubs, jockeys wearing Henderson silks and members of Mermaid Beach Bowls Club formed a guard of honour as Mr Henderson’s coffin left the service.
He was laid to rest at Southport Lawn Cemetery.
Former Mermaid Beach SLSC president John Dillon said Mr Henderson, who with wife Jan donated more than $1m to lifesaving clubs, was a “great contributor” to the community.
“I just can’t say too much good stuff about him,” Mr Dillon said. “He’s just been great, a really good guy who will be sadly missed. An icon.
“Nobody’s ever had a bad word about him.
“He had great integrity, that’s why he was there so long and was so well respected.”
Former REIQ President Ray Milton said he had known Mr Henderson for decades, initially as a “friendly competitor”, but before long as a valued colleague and friend.
“He was a good listener,” Mr Milton said. “I had a lot of involvement with the REIQ, and John was always taking an interest in how we could make the industry better to work in.
“He was a good man and we never had an argument all the years that I knew him.
“We’ve lost a very good person and a very good realtor.”
Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens said Mr Henderson was “a wonderful Gold Coast icon”. “He was a great community-minded person that put back into the community as much as he got out of it.
“We were very lucky, particularly in lifesaving, he just poured all his energy and money into that wonderful aspect of Gold Coast life. He was an absolute gentleman.”