Phyllis Henning, Co-Owned Alaska Northwest Publishing
Phyllis Gertrude Henning could whip up an elegant spread of roast beef, crab and shrimp salad one day for frequent houseguests and get
the books for her ever-growing publishing company in tiptop shape the next.
A longtime co-owner of Alaska Magazine and The Milepost, a popular guide to the Alaska Highway, she also enjoyed spending time with her family and gardening.
Mrs. Henning died of pneumonia Thursday in Edmonds. She was 79.
Mrs. Henning and her husband, Robert, started the Alaska Northwest Publishing Co. when they purchased Alaska Sportsman magazine in 1958. The title was later changed to Alaska Magazine.
When the company was sold in the late 1980s it was publishing more than 100 periodicals and books on Alaska.
Mrs. Henning was chief accountant at the company, said Robert Henning.
"If there hadn't been a Phyllis, there wouldn't have been a business," he said of his wife's dedication to their company.
Outside of her business interests, Mrs. Henning was skilled in the kitchen and an avid gardener.
Her pride and joy were her roses, and there was hardly a time when the house wasn't filled with freshly cut flowers from her garden, said her stepdaughter, Randi Henning of Mukilteo.
The couple divided their time between Edmonds and Angoon, Alaska. In earlier years, Mrs. Henning enjoyed hosting candlelight dinner parties for family members and friends at their house in Alaska.
"It wasn't a Sunday dinner if there weren't at least 15 people there," Randi Henning said. "You did not sit down and have a sandwich in that house."
Mrs. Henning's greatest passion, though, was her grandchildren.
"She had no children of her own, but she was everybody's mother," Robert said. "She was just a nice, lovable person, and she loved kids."
Mrs. Henning is also survived by her stepson, Eric Henning of Arlington; step-granddaughters, Jennifer Murray of Edmonds and Kim Murray of Everett; and step-great-grandchildren, Austin and Marissa of Everett.
No services will be held.