Joan Parkins

Joan Parkins (October 4, 1922 – June 1, 2013) was a Canadian figure skater. She chose not to go professional and instead married Gordon F. Henderson.

Biography
Parkins was born on October 4, 1922, and she went into figure skating at an early age. She had a high school education but did not further her education because figure skating would be her career. She began skating at the Minto Skating Club and won prizes at events such as the Winnipeg Speed Skating Association championships and three first places at the Minto Club Junior Championships, where she placed above future world champion Barbara Ann Scott twice. While at the Minto club, she was coached by Otto Gold and skated with Barbara Scott.

Parkins had a request to turn professional, and while she was considering it, she began working on the switchboard at Gowlings in 1941. Her father died during that time, and in 1942, she married a young lawyer from the firm: Gordon Henderson. Ian Scott referred to him as "the best all-around lawyer the profession has produced since the War." She subsequently did not go professional in figure skating and did not take a job.

She was on the board of various organizations, including Skate Canada, Selkirk Communications, the Ottawa Civic Hospital, and the Stratford Festival.

She and her husband set up the Gordon and Joan Henderson Endowment Fund at the Ottawa Hospital and The Gordon and Joan Henderson Family Fund at the Community Foundation of Ottawa.

She died on June 1, 2013, at the age of 90.

Family
Parkins was the eldest of John and Jennie Parkins's four children. In 1942 she married Gordon Henderson and was married for 55 years until he died in 1993. They had three children: Joanne, Gordon, and Robert, and nine grandchildren, including Stuart Henderson.