April 17, 2022
One of the First Female Math Teachers
Cynthia “Cindy” M. (Kichula) Henyon, 76, of Skillman died on Easter morning, Sunday, April 17 surrounded by family at Bromley Manor in Manchester, Vermont following a valiant battle against ovarian cancer.
Born in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, Cindy resided most of her life in New Jersey, growing up in Middlesex, attending college in New Brunswick and residing in Skillman for more than 50 years. The daughter of a pipe fitter and a factory worker, Cindy graduated from high school as salutatorian and was the first one in her family to graduate from college.
She majored in mathematics at Douglass College, where she met Gil Henyon, her late husband. Cindy’s daily tardiness to her college calculus class resulted in being seated at the back of the classroom next to Gil, the graduate teaching assistant, prescient of 53 years of marriage. Following Gil’s service in the U.S. Army, they moved to Skillman in 1969, where they raised their kids: Heather and Noah.
.
Cindy was a high school math teacher at South Brunswick High School for more than 30 years and was one of the first female math teachers. Touted as being “tough but fair” by her students, she professed a love of numbers that continued all her life through competitive bridge matches and Mensa-level Sudoku puzzles.
Cindy’s light were her grandchildren, Alec and Max. She loved visiting them in Dubai, chasing them around the house, pushing them on swings, reading bedtime stories, playing Scrabble, going on walks, swimming at the beach, cheering them on at their sporting events, joking around, and just being with them. Always up for anything, she was the fun grandparent. Nothing brought her more joy than spending time with them, and them with her.
With a love for dancing (particularly polka), singing, and rock-n-roll music, Cindy brought fun wherever she was. She was known for her quick wit. Earlier in her life, she was active with the Montgomery Environmental Commission, was a Girl Scouts troop leader and a Cub Scouts den leader, enjoyed bowling with her mom and sister, and was an active gardener (her late husband would say that her skill was weeding).
She relished spending time outdoors camping, fishing, canoeing, and cross-country skiing with her family at Stokes State Forest and especially in Vermont, where she and Gil owned a second home. When she retired, she enjoyed traveling to the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe, and Alaska with her husband. She was a long-time member of the Blawenburg Reformed Church in Skillman. She loved holidays, especially Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, and the opportunity to cook her Ukrainian/Polish heritage foods and spend time with family. As the eldest of four children, she was a selfless mom and grammy.
Daughter of the late David and Lydia (Guenther) Kichula, Cindy is survived by a daughter Heather Henyon (Armen Vartanian) of Winhall, Vermont; a son Noah Henyon in New York city; grandsons Alec and Max Vartanian; a sister Lydia Slangan (Gary) of Salem, Oregon; sisters-in-law Patty D’Apolito of Princeton and Phyllis Wygovsky (Paul) of North Carolina; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Cindy was predeceased by her husband, Gil Henyon; her sister, Debbie Schneekloth; and her brother, David Kichula.
The funeral service was Saturday, April 23 at the Blawenburg Reformed Church, followed by a celebration of Cindy’s life at the Princeton Elks Lodge.
Memorial contributions may be made to the following organizations:
Douglass Residential College or Blawenburg Reformed Church or to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance.
Comments