By Marc Emral
Editor
MEmral@cherryroad.com
LAWRENCEBURG – Noel Barnes “Chris” McHenry, a longtime journalist and active in the Dearborn County community, died Wednesday, May 29, 2024. She was 91.
Born on Dec. 13, 1932, in Port Arthur, New York, Mrs. McHenry moved to Dearborn County in the 1950s, according to her daughter Sue Dudgeon. Her father and grandfather were pharmacists, with her father Arthur Charles Emelin moving here to become president of the Schenley Penicillin Plant.
Chris McHenry worked for many years for the Cincinnati Enquirer and was on-air news director for WSCH-FM. She wrote for Register Publications for many years.
Her grandson, Shane McHenry, is the Dearborn County Sheriff.
She was married twice before she met “the love of her life,” Bob McHenry, said her daughter Sue.
“Bob was everything to her,” Sue said. “He let her do what she wanted to do, all the stuff that she was involved in and everything and he supported her through all that.”
Chris McHenry was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Aurora where she was an elder and sang in the choir.
Among her involvement included: the Lawrenceburg Library Board, Community Foundation Board, Hillforest Historical Mansion Board, Indiana State Museum Board, and Family History Committee of the Indiana Historical Society. She was a founding member of the board of directors and secretary of the Dearborn County Historical Society.
Chris McHenry organized and served on the Dearborn County Cemetery Commission and presented tours of Greendale Cemetery. She represented the historical interests on the Dearborn County Plan Advisory Committee. She was a chairperson and organizer of the 200th anniversary re-enactment of Lochry’s Defeat, Indiana’s other Revolutionary War Battle. She was the author of “The Best Men of Westmoreland,” a comprehensive history of the Lochry expedition and battle. She also has compiled seven volumes of historic records including a listing of Dearborn County marriages prior to the burning of the Court House in 1826. She documented veterans of the American Revolution who lived/died in Dearborn County and documented the burial sites of 75 veterans in Dearborn County.
Chris served on a multi-county Underground Railroad committee, compiled a history of African Americans in Dearborn County and presented the findings at the Martin Luther King Day Celebration. She prepared a successful application to achieve National Historic Resister status for the Vance-Tousey House. She has helped the local police and fire departments compile their histories and supplied research on fallen police officers for inclusion on the National Police Memorial.
She was the first recognized Dearborn County Historian. Current county historical, Jenny Awad, said, “Chris McHenry has done more to record and research Dearborn County history than any other. As the current Dearborn County Historian I have always tried to follow her example, but they are big shoes to fill. She will definitely be missed and never forgotten.”
Sue Dudgeon said her mother was always for equal rights. “And the funny thing is, when I was in grade school, I think it was like sixth or seventh grade, she gave me an ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) bracelet for my birthday. … She came from wealth but she would send the unfortunate kids to class trips to (Washington) D.C., and she was always there in the background.”
Former editor of Register Publications, Joe Awad, Jenny’s husband, said Chris McHenry had a “remarkable understanding of local history.”
“She performed many tasks with Register Publications over the years, but she was best when she dug deep into the past,” Joe Awad said. “She wrote a marvelous column that often shed light on the important role Dearborn County played in the building of our nation during the 19th century.”
Chris McHenry went to McGill University in Montreal and was a classmate of actor Will Shatner. “She played his (Shatner) mom in a play. She died on his birthday.”
She lived at Ridgewood Health Campus for the past few years.
“She told everybody at Ridgewood that she was so blessed to have a job that she absolutely loved,” Sue Dudgeon said. “I mean, even when she quit driving I had to take her to the Greendale meetings so that she could report on them. And they loved her. They gave her a plaque when she retired.”
Chris McHenry and her husband Bob enjoyed going to dirt track racing, and even worked at the Lawrenceburg Speedway at one time. Her grandson, Shane, now runs the races at the track.
“But it’s just really funny that Shane is now (running) the racetrack and his son is cleaning up on everything,” Sue said.
No services are planned at this time.
