David N. Henderson, 82; N.C. Lawyer Served 16 Years in Congress
David N. Henderson, 82, a former congressman for North Carolina who helped create Cape Lookout National Seashore during 16 years in the House of Representatives, died Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C. The cause of death was not announced.
Born on a family farm in Hubert, N.C., Henderson graduated from Davidson College. During World War II, he served with the U.S. Army Air Forces in Asia and the Pacific. After the war, he earned his law degree at the University of North Carolina.
Henderson, a Democrat, was chief staffer in 1952 for an investigating subcommittee chaired by then-Rep. John F. Kennedy.
Henderson was elected to the House in 1960, representing North Carolina’s 3rd District, and later chaired the Post Office and Civil Service Committee. With Sen. B. Everett Jordan (D-N.C.), Henderson co-sponsored legislation creating Cape Lookout National Seashore along the Outer Banks.
Henderson chose not to seek reelection in 1977 and joined Marlow Cook, a former U.S. senator from Kentucky, in private law practice in Washington, D.C. He retired from the law firm in 1987 and returned to North Carolina.
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