Nicholas C. Henderson

Kittitas County Coroner Nicholas C. “Nick” Henderson, 68, lifetime Upper County resident, passed away unexpectedly at his South Cle Elum home on Wednesday, October 22, 2025.

Nick was born on January 8, 1957, the first of two children born to Charles & Jennie (Osmonovich) Henderson. He grew up in the Ducktown part of Roslyn and graduated from Cle Elum High School in 1975. Growing up, Nick enjoyed learning about his family’s Croatian heritage, and listening to stories of the early days in Roslyn and Cle Elum from his uncles and the old-timers in the area, which instilled his love of local history.

While still in high school, Nick went to work part time for Earl Brown at Brown’s Funeral Chapel in Cle Elum. This job instilled a love of funeral service that would continue through his whole life. Nick later attended Central Washington University before beginning his funeral service apprenticeship under the guidance of George & Betty Evenson at Evenson Funeral Home in Ellensburg. He later moved to California to attend the San Francisco College of Mortuary Science, working for the Keaton Brothers Mortuary in San Raphel and Novato while in school and for some years after his licensure as a Funeral Director and Embalmer. He returned to the Pacific Northwest in the early 1990’s where he worked a year for Hazen & Jager Funeral Home in Spokane before returning to Ellensburg to work at Steward & Williams Funeral Home.

Following an automobile accident while working for Steward & Williams, Nick shifted gears in his career path and became the Community Relations Coordinator for Trendwest’s MountainStar Resort (now Suncadia) between Cle Elum and Roslyn. He was proud of the work he did in being instrumental in helping to bridge the gap between the resort and local community.

Amongst the many jobs he worked during his life, Nick owned and operated his own monument dealership, selling and installing headstones all over the county. One of his greatest achievements during that time of his life was helping to design and construct the Veteran’s Memorial at Laurel Hill Memorial Park in Cle Elum. He, along with his brother Rick, were also instrumental in helping to develop the Croation Memorial in the Roslyn Cemetery complex.

In November 2014, Nick became the first elected coroner in Kittitas County since 1927, a role previously filled by the county prosecutor until the population crossed over 40,000 residents. He took office on January 1, 2015, with nothing more than “a desk in the corner of the jail and some pencils – but no pencil sharpener!” He was re-elected in what would be considered landslide elections in 2018 and 2022 – nobody who ran against him could come anywhere close to beating him. He was still serving as the elected Coroner at the time of his death and was looking forward to his retirement at the end of his term in 2026.

In his off time, Nick enjoyed being social at many places around the Upper County including Pioneer Coffee and The Cottage Café just to name two. You could always count on Nick to have some new joke – appropriate or not - to tell you. He would also take extended vacations in the summer to Alaska where he had built a cabin and enjoyed being one with nature.

Nick was a longtime member of the Cle Elum-Roslyn-Ronald Heritage Club and spent many years both a board member, board president, curator and tour guide at the Roslyn Museum. One of his favorite parts of upper county history was the Roslyn Cemeteries – all you had to do was call and he’d meet you up there to give you a tour that would last hours. He also held many community service roles over the years including his work with the Cle Elum-Roslyn Chamber of Commerce.

In January 1993, Nick was bestowed the title of Master Mason at the St. Thomas Masonic Lodge No. 139 in Cle Elum and held many leadership roles within the Masonic Lodge over his lifetime. After the Cle Elum Lodge closed, Nick became an active member and regular fixture of Ellensburg Lodge No. 39.

To sum it up, Nick was… well, Nick. Love him or hate him, he’d always tell you exactly what he thought and there was no question where you stood with him. Despite his outwardly gruff exterior, he had a big heart and a genuine love of caring for people in all walks of life, but returning to his calling as a funeral director, he was the best at walking with people during the worst moments of their life.

Nick is survived by his mother Jennie Henderson; nephew Nathan (Emily) Henderson; uncle Louie Osmonovich and a very large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. He was preceded in death by his father Charles “Chuck” Henderson; his brother Ricky K. “Rick” Henderson; his uncles Steve “Pip” Osmonovich, John “Chick” Osmonovich, Donald “Don” Osmonovich; nephew CMsgt Casey L. “Oz” Osmonovich, USAF (Ret.); aunt Sherry (Bozon) Osmonovich; and several other aunts, uncles and cousins.

Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1 at the Cle Elum Community Church with burial to follow at Roslyn Memorial Gardens. In true upper-country fashion, following the formal services, a reception will be held starting at 1:00 p.m. that afternoon at the Cle Elum Eagles.

Memorial contributions in Nick’s honor are suggested to the Cle Elum-Roslyn-Ronald Heritage Club, c/o Debbie Cernick, PO Box 916, Cle Elum, WA 98922 or to the Roslyn Historical Museum, P.O. Box 281, Roslyn, WA 98941.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Johnston & Williams of Cle Elum. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.johnston-williams.com