Phyllis Norine Walker Hensley died on August 20, 2026, at the age of 100 years, eleven months and one day.
Phyllis was born September 19, 1925, on her family farm in Audubon County, Iowa, the fifth of nine children of Olive Baumgardner and Marion Lancelot Walker.
She grew up on the farm in a big farmhouse without electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. She and all her siblings attended one-room schools, boarded in Exira, and graduated from Exira High School. She and two sisters taught in the Iowa one-room, country school system, sometimes teaching their own siblings and children.
Phyllis fell in love with Texas after spending a year with her sister Dorothy. Later she and best friend Thelma moved to Texas where each married Texas men after World War II. Phyllis and Thomas Jefferson Phillips returned to Iowa where twins, Mark Thomas and Cheryl Lynn Phillips, were born. After divorcing, Phyllis returned to Texas. There she married Cecil Rae Simmons, and they had one son, Kent Walker Simmons, before divorcing. Phyllis was a single mother for several years until she met her “Prince Charming,” Max James Hensley, and they married in 1969.
Phyllis and Max began their lives with Phillips Petroleum, working in Kenai, Alaska; Santos, Brazil; and Morichal and Maracaibo, Venezuela until he retired in 1983. Through work, they traveled around Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands. Phyllis loved learning and became fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. After retirement, they settled in Burnet, Texas and their travel continued to the Hawaiian Islands, Canada, and Europe, where they visited England, Wales, Scotland, Spain, and France. Phyllis enjoyed swimming and golf in South America, then reading, genealogy, bridge, exercise, library clubs, and her beloved First Baptist Church in Burnet. Phyllis resided in Burnet after Max’s death in 2011 until 2020, when she moved to Willow Park, Texas.
Max and Phyllis counted their combined five children as their own and enjoyed close relationships with them: Jerry Hensley and wife Sandy of Odessa; Joe Hensley and wife Marla of New Braunfels; Mark Phillips and wife Daralyn of Friendswood; Cheryl Kensing and husband Herb of Willow Park; and Kent Simmons and wife Dianna of Kingwood.
Phyllis was predeceased by her husband and by her sons, Kent and Mark, and by Max’s daughter-in-law, Sandy. In addition, she was predeceased by her siblings, Dorothy, Betty, Marion Junior, Virginia, Howard, Lillian, and Forrest.
Phyllis is survived by her daughter, Cheryl Kensing (Herb) of Willow Park, and Max’s sons Jerry (Cheryl) of Odessa, and Joe (Marla) of New Braunfels, Texas; as well as her brother, Kelly Walker (Betty) of Audubon, Pennsylvania; her brother Howard’s widow Marjorie of Exira, and her brother Forrest’s widow Shirley of Minden, Iowa. She is also survived by her nine grandchildren (Kristi, Marci, Courtney, Shay, Kami, Derek, Tyler, Christopher, and Jennifer) and by Max’s three grandchildren (Lori, Nikki, and Lana), along with numerous great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of her life was held on on Saturday, August 29, in Burnet. Interment followed at Post Mountain Cemetery in Burnet.
The Community News
September 11, 2026
