ExtremeRavens Posted October 9 Posted October 9 Larry “Wes” Henson, the Ravens superfan known as Captain Dee-Fense and a retired Naval cryptography technician, died of cancer Oct. 5 at University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center in La Plata. The Waldorf resident was 75. Born Larry Llewellyn Henson in Baltimore, and raised on Eutaw Place, he was the son of Irvin Henson, a Schmidt’s Bakery worker, and his wife, Alverta. He was a graduate of Northwestern High School, where he played football and basketball. He picked up the name Wes in tribute to NBA’s Wes Unseld, who played for the old Baltimore Bullets and its successor teams. He met his future wife, LaVerne Rondon, while in high school. They married in 1971 and were soon sent by the Navy to Guam. He was a cryptography technician and had other assignments in Japan, Iceland and Panama. After 15 years in military service, he joined a private defense contractor in Northern Virginia and settled in Southern Maryland. “He was easygoing,” his wife said. “He liked family events and going out to eat. He liked his seafood, steak and potatoes.” Mr. Henson was also a motivational speaker who addressed groups. Wes Henson, aka Captain Dee-Fense, was one of three in the inaugural class to be inducted into the ESPN Hall of Fans. (Kim Hairston/Staff) “He stressed the importance of being there for your children,” said his daughter, Chandra Wilson. “He also loved the military, and he tried to be at airports when service personnel were coming back from overseas. As a grandfather, he loved taking his grandson Raymond to BWI to watch planes land and take off.” Mr. Henson was an ardent football fan and followed the old Baltimore Colts and the Canadian Football League’s Baltimore Stallions in the mid-1990s. As soon as an NFL franchise moved to Baltimore, he became an extraordinary Ravens fan. He was a constant presence at games, greeting fans in his signature attire. A 2012 Baltimore Sun story described his Navy captain’s hat, aviator shades, military tags dangling from his neck, purple and white spikes and chains wrapped around his shoulders, purple and white camouflage pants, signature “Dirty Towel” tied around his waist, wrists wrapped in sweatbands and torn koozies, and black combat boots with purple laces. That year, he was inducted into the inaugural three-member class of the ESPN Hall of Fans. “…he regards [this] as a tremendous honor, even bigger than his 2002 induction into the fans’ section of the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” The Sun story said. He recalled that one day, a little girl of about 8 stopped him and asked about a shirt he was wearing that said “Defense.” “‘Hey, mister, are you, like, the captain of the defense?’” he said. He then went to Wal-Mart and bought letters he ironed onto the back of fatigues. And he got cute with the spelling and the hyphen. “Captain Dee-Fense” was officially born, the story said. “All of a sudden, I was some kind of defensive [football] genius,” he said. “Down at the Inner Harbor, I was getting interviewed on Channel 11 and Channel 5. They were asking, ‘Captain D, what do you think about this defense and that one?’” Over the years, he found himself with thousands of Facebook fans. His beaming smile appeared across Baltimore on M&T Bank billboard advertisements. Mr. Henson sat in section 513, row 17 at home games. He became a goodwill ambassador for the team and often left his seat to wander throughout the stadium, stopping to sign autographs, pose for pictures and chat with fans. He also made scores of appearances for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network, and at the Purple Dames’ Food Drive, Pets on Wheels and the Relay for Life in Perry Hall. Mr. Henson enjoyed reading inspirational and self-help books. Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Steve Siebold and Barbara Pease were among his favorite authors. He said his personal philosophy was making himself a better person so he could help others. “At the end of the day, that’s what life is about,” he said in 2012. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, LaVerne Rondon Henson; two daughters, Donella Oleston, of Federal Way, Washington, and Chandra Wilson, of Howard County; five sisters, Mae Jones, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Marsha Bannister, Marlene Makle, Serena Henson and Michelle Henson, all of the Baltimore area; and two grandchildren. Plans for a funeral are pending. Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at jkelly@baltsun.com. View the full article Quote
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