City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Rance Henderson
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 92.
Died 07/21/2025.
Dr. C. Lorance (“Rance”) Henderson, loving patriarch to an adoring family, legendary storyteller, visionary leader in deaf education, U.S. Navy Veteran, tireless volunteer, and friend to all, passed away in Raleigh, North Carolina on July 21, 2025.
Rance was born in Kings Mountain, NC, on April 23, 1933, to Henry Loray and Lillian Camp Henderson both of whom worked at a local textile mill. He was the oldest of six children and spent most of his childhood living in a mill village.
After graduating from Kings Mountain High School and working as a meat cutter (eventually earning the Journeyman Meat Cutter designation), he joined the U.S. Navy “Seabees” and helped build the U.S. Naval Air Station Cubi Point, Subic Bay (Phillipines).
In 1957, he returned to Kings Mountain to marry Betty Ledford, his high school sweetheart. After a honeymoon in Bat Cave, NC, Rance followed Betty to Salem, Oregon, to join her in a career in deaf education.
Born with a passion for service and education, Rance earned degrees from Western Oregon University (B.S. and M.S.), California State University at Northridge (M.A.), and Gardner-Webb University, where he received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
At the culmination of his distinguished career, Rance served as Superintendent of the North Carolina School for the Deaf (Morganton) and Director of the North Carolina Schools for the Deaf. Before that, his professional journey included leadership roles at the Oregon State School for the Deaf (including time as football coach and track and field coach) and West Suburban Association for the Hearing Handicapped (Illinois). He authored numerous influential articles on deaf education and was a sought-after speaker and thought leader in his field. His innovative work as a teacher, coach, and administrator helped shape generations of students and teachers in the deaf community nationwide.
Rance’s dedication extended far beyond the classroom and school administration. A committed civic leader, he served on numerous boards and committees including Gardner-Webb University, Boy Scouts of America (Piedmont Council), Burke County United Way, N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the N.C. Partnership for Children (Smart Start), Lake James Task Force, and the Morganton Kiwanis Club. His deep involvement with First Baptist Church of Morganton included leadership in youth and family ministries, stewardship, and Christian education.
Rance received numerous honors in recognition of his exceptional professional and volunteer work including the NC Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the BSA Silver Beaver Award, the BSA Silver Shepherd Award, Kiwanian of the Year (Morganton), the Distinguished Service Award from Lenoir-Rhyne College, and (with Betty) the N.C. Baptist Heritage Award.
Rance was full of life and enjoyed many things including his grandchildren and great grandchildren; UNC sports (especially basketball); hosting gatherings at their house at Lake James; teaching others how to water ski; woodworking; all kinds of food especially corn on the cob, Chick-Fil-A peach milkshakes, oyster stew, and cornbread and buttermilk; classic country and western music (especially Willie Nelson!) and traveling (countless adventures including trips to Europe, Alaska, New England, NYC, the Upper Peninsula, and Barcelo Maya).
Rance and Betty lived in Morganton, NC, for 50 years, where they created lifelong friends and memories. In 2020, they moved to the Magnolia Glen retirement community in Raleigh to be closer to their children. They immediately involved themselves in the MG community and, in turn, the community embraced them.
Rance is survived by the love of his life, senior prom date, and wife of 67 years: Betty Ledford Henderson. Also, son David (Sherri), daughter Julie (Rod), five grandchildren (Jessica (Brad), James (Regan), Andrew (Lauren), Sarah (Dustin), and Abbie (Will)), and six great grandchildren (Jackson, Oliver, Luke, Elsie Jo, Charlie, and Morgan). Also, sister Kay Davis, sisters-in-law Mary Henderson and Jill Ledford, and brothers-in-law Jerry Ledford, and Jerry Rikard, and numerous nieces and nephews who loved their “Uncle Rance”.
The family wishes to thank the staff at UNC REX Hospital and UNC REX rehabilitation for their caring, attentive care of Rance during his last days. Also, many thanks to the staff and residents of Magnolia Glen for their love and support of Rance and Betty.
Celebration of Life services will be held at:
● Magnolia Glen, 5301 Creedmoor Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612, on Friday, July 25, at 2:00 p.m., and
● First Baptist Church, 502 W Union St, Morganton, NC 28655, Saturday, July 26, at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to:
● Gardner Webb University, PO Box 997, Boiling Springs, NC 28017. Designation: Henderson-Ledford Scholarship Fund.
● Foothills Conservancy of NC, 204 Avery Ave, Morganton, NC 28655.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
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Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
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We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.