Farmer, museum advocate.
Born at home near Lancer, Saskatchewan on 10 October 1916, to Rose Evaline “Eva” Hitchcock (1895-1966) and Ernest Leopold Horne (1888-1976), she moved with her family to Expanse, Saskatchewan in 1925. In 1933, they left the drought-stricken region to settle on a farm in the Ditton Park district, near Aylsham in northeastern Saskatchewan, and she completed her high school education at Tisdale.
In 1936, she married Robert Nelson “Bert” Campbell (1904-1987), who farmed near her parents’ home and with whom she went on to have six children. She was a devoted mother and energetic farm partner to her husband. She was active in the community, taking part in school, church, and social affairs. In 1952 she and the family moved to Aylsham, living in the town but continuing to farm nearby.
Retiring from farming in 1967, she and her husband then moved to his birthplace, Neepawa. While there, she became active with the Viscount Cultural Council, serving for a time as President. The VCC was particularly interested in the author Margaret Laurence, who was a native of Neepawa. In 1985, Campbell made a presentation to the Neepawa city council regarding creating an historic site honouring Laurence. She reported that the VCC had been approached by the Neepawa Area Development Corporation to purchase and restore the Simpson House, at 312 First Street, where Laurence had lived with her grandfather (1935-1944). NADCO proposed to develop the house as a heritage site and a tourist attraction, and Campbell suggested that perhaps the VCC would consider using it as a cultural centre as well. In 1987, the home became a provincially-designated historic site, called Simpson House/Margaret Laurence House. She continued as a long-time member of the Margaret Laurence Home Committee Inc., serving at various times as its Secretary, Curator, and President. She also authored two books about Laurence: Margaret's Special Places in Neepawa, and Writer in Residence. In 1998, she became the recipient of a Manitoba Heritage Federation Award.
After the death of her husband Bert, she married her widowed neighbour, Leslie Brooks Henderson (1912-1997) on 15 February 1989. She continued to reside in their large home in Neepawa after he died, tending her vegetable and flower gardens.
She died at Portage la Prairie on 17 April 2009 and was buried in the Neepawa Riverside Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Simpson House / Margaret Laurence House (312 First Avenue, Neepawa)
Obituary [Leslie Brooks Henderson], Neepawa Banner, 1 September 1997, page 14.
“Dorothy Horney Campbell Henderson,” Coram Family Tree, Ancestry.
“Looking back—1975,” Neepawa Banner and Press, 17 November 2015.
Dorothy Henderson Fonds, York University.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 1 March 2025
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