Margaret A Henningsen

Margaret A. Henningsen, 79, of Crown King, AZ died peacefully at home with her husband and her sister Carol by her side on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, after a courageous, two-year battle with cancer. Margaret was born in Worcester, MA, daughter of Fred Jones and Mary (Shoemaker) Howard, the eldest of eight children. She attended Commerce High School in Worcester before marrying her first husband, Peter Harrahy. She later became a licensed practical nurse and graduated first in her class, earning the Florence Nightingale Award. She worked in several hospitals and nursing homes and was particularly fond of caring for elderly patients. After her divorce, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she met Raymond (Ray) Henningsen. They were married in Las Vegas on February 3, 1990. Margaret and Ray loved to escape the heat by spending their weekends in Crown King and eventually decided to give up their jobs in the city so they could move to the mountain. They bought an A-frame cabin, which they lovingly added on to and made their own. Over the years, Margaret worked at the Crown King Saloon, the Crown King School, and the General Store (and Post Office), where she made the best fudge. She had a passion for the stories and the history of Crown King and was instrumental in establishing the Crown King Historical Society in 2005. She served on its Board of Directors for more than 20 years, during which time she served as its President, helped create the annual Apple Festival, planned and implemented the Centennial Project, organized cemetery clean-up events, and brought in guest speakers. She loved to participate in Crown King’s many parades, often dressed in historical period costumes. Margaret also served as a dedicated member of the Crown King School Board from 2010 to 2024. She worked hard to protect the school and to support the education of the town’s children. Margaret was a wonderful storyteller and often the life of the party. She was also one of those rare persons who managed to find humor in even the most difficult situations. She cared deeply for others, whether they were her friends and neighbors, or strangers, and often stopped to help the homeless. She paid attention to what was going on in the world, had a strong sense of social justice, and loved to discuss and debate politics, although people knew better than to argue with Margaret. She was an avid reader and especially loved historical fiction. She enjoyed traveling. She and Ray were able to visit Hawaii and Alaska and even took a long motorcycle trip up the west coast. She was especially fond of Cape Cod in summer and of all New England in fall, when the leaves turned their true colors. Margaret loved camping, canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. She was so happy to be able to get into the lake to swim one last time in Wisconsin with her daughters, granddaughters, and niece this past summer. Most of all, she loved spending time with family. Margaret leaves her husband Ray, her daughter Elisabeth (Harry Nichols) Harrahy of Oconomowoc, WI, son Peter (Sarah) Harrahy, Jr. of Spencer, MA, daughter Kathleen (Manuel Rangel) Thompson of Mesa, AZ, son Jay (Robin) Henningsen of Gilbert, MN, and daughters Kristine (Patrick) Bergen and Susan (Eghia) Aramian of Bremerton, WA. She leaves 15 grandchildren, the accomplishments of whom she was so very proud (Isabella, Olivia and Madeline Nichols, Peter and Anthony Harrahy, Sean, Summer, and Jacob Thompson, Randi Henningsen, Kodi Wood, Jessica and Ryan Bergan, and Samantha, Zachary and Karin Aramian) and 17 great grandchildren (Layla, Lucas, Logan, Lily, Tanner, Asher, Jemma, Zoey, Lulabelle, Magnus, Atlas, Moxie, Maisie, Pearson, Killian, Matteo, and Iris). Margaret is also survived by her aunt Ruth Covella, her uncle Tom Shoemaker, sisters Carol Kurpius, Barbara Evans and Nancy Cohagen, brothers Fred and James Jones, many nieces and nephews, and countless friends across the country. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Kathleen Allan, and her brother William Jones. A service will be held for her at the Crown King Community Church (23175 Gladiator Mine Rd) at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 14, followed by a celebration of her life in the “side yard” in downtown Crown King at 1:00 PM. Donations may be made in Margaret’s honor to the Crown King Historical Society (https://crownkinghistoricalsociety.org/join-us/).

Margaret A Henningsen

January 3, 1947 - February 3, 2026