A portrait in facts and small public moments
Gyongyi Henson stands at the intersection of family legacy, local entrepreneurship, and occasional creative work. She is most widely visible as the widow of puppeteer John Paul Henson (April 25, 1965 – February 14, 2014), the proprietor of a neighborhood boutique in Saugerties, New York, and as a modestly credited contributor to small film and production projects. Her public presence is stitched from a handful of clear dates, place names, and roles — a lattice of personal and professional details that give shape to a life lived partly in private and partly in public view.
Quick facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name shown publicly | Gyongyi Henson (also appears as Gyöngyi Katona in some family notices) |
| Principal local business | Owner / operator, Cherry Blossoms Boutique (Partition Street, Saugerties, NY) |
| Notable family tie | Widowed spouse of John Paul Henson (April 25, 1965 – February 14, 2014) |
| Children | Two daughters: Katrina (born circa 1999) and Sydney (born circa 2003) |
| Property involvement | Managed and later listed family property in Saugerties/Bright Bank estate (listed publicly in 2015; relisted in later years, including 2022) |
| Film / production credits | Occasional credits (acting/producer/art department) on small or independent titles |
| First public meeting with spouse | Met John Henson in 1996 |
Family table — public relationships and dates
| Name | Relationship | Publicly reported detail |
|---|---|---|
| John Paul Henson | Husband (deceased) | Born Apr 25, 1965 — Died Feb 14, 2014; puppeteer, family shareholder |
| Katrina Henson | Daughter (older) | Born circa 1999; cited in family notices and film-credit listings |
| Sydney Henson | Daughter (younger) | Born circa 2003; cited in family notices |
| Henson extended family | In-laws (siblings) | Includes siblings and relatives often named in family notices (e.g., Brian, Lisa, Cheryl, Heather) |
From boutique windows to family estate: career and public roles
The clearest public thread in Gyongyi Henson’s life is local commerce. For much of the 2010s she is identified with Cherry Blossoms Boutique, a small retail shop on Partition Street in Saugerties. The boutique appears as a brick-and-mortar expression of her day-to-day public persona: selecting inventory, operating a small team, and participating in community retail life. That role places dates and numbers on the record — business activity documented in the 2010s and present in social-media storefronts and local press features.
Parallel to retail, Gyongyi’s name appears sporadically in production credits: a handful of acting and producer listings on independent titles and small projects. These entries are few in number and suggest occasional creative involvement rather than a full-time entertainment career. They are small flashes of visibility: a line on a credits page here, a production title there.
Another public role — less about occupation and more about stewardship — was her involvement with family real estate. The Henson family home and the Bright Bank estate along the Hudson entered public listing cycles, notably in 2015 and again in later years (including an itemized relisting in 2022). In those moments Gyongyi acted as manager and representative of property matters: public-facing duties that placed her in quotes, listings, and legal transaction records. They supply concrete numbers (years of listing activity, asking prices in public records) without revealing private financials.
Dates and numbers that matter
- 1996 — the year John Henson and Gyöngyi Katona first met.
- circa 1999 — estimated birth year for daughter Katrina (about 15 at the time of John’s death in 2014).
- circa 2003 — estimated birth year for daughter Sydney.
- February 14, 2014 — date of John Paul Henson’s death.
- 2012–2016 — period with notable local press coverage about Cherry Blossoms Boutique.
- 2015 and 2022 — public listing and relisting activity for the family property.
Public visibility and voice
Gyongyi’s public voice is quiet. She is most frequently visible through the channels that naturally record small businesses and family milestones: boutique social pages, local business directories, obituary and family notices, and property listings. Her media appearances are not high-volume interviews or national profiles; they are practical, factual, and tied to moments when estate matters or business listings required a named representative.
Her creative credits — the acting and producing lines that appear in film databases — act like small stage lights along a dimmer switch. They reveal curiosity and participation in projects, yet they do not dominate her public identity. Retail and family stewardship remain the heavier, more consistent markers.
A sketch in timelines and touchpoints
| Year / Period | Event or public touchpoint |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Meeting of John Henson and Gyöngyi Katona (the origin of their partnership) |
| ~1999 | Birth of elder daughter, Katrina (estimated) |
| ~2003 | Birth of younger daughter, Sydney (estimated) |
| 2010s | Operation of Cherry Blossoms Boutique; local press coverage and social posts |
| Feb 14, 2014 | Passing of John Paul Henson; Gyongyi identified as surviving spouse |
| 2015 | Public listing of family Hudson River property; Gyongyi appears as representative |
| 2016–2022 | Ongoing local mentions, property relisting(s), and boutique social activity |
The public image: threads, not banners
Gyongyi Henson’s public image reads less like a billboard and more like a stitched quilt: many small, visible patches joined to form a whole. There are exact stitches — dates, the name of a shop, property listings — and there are soft edges where precise birth years or private details are given only as estimates. That combination creates a portrait of someone who inhabits both public and private spheres without letting either fully eclipse the other.
She is, in public accounts, tethered to a family legacy that is large and recognizable, yet she herself occupies the subtler role of local entrepreneur and family steward. The narrative is numerical and human at once: dates and addresses; a boutique storefront; two daughters whose birth years frame a decade; a meeting in 1996 that set the rest in motion. Each element is a small factual stone; together they form a path you can trace.
Timeline snapshots (select public facts)
- Met in 1996; married thereafter.
- Two daughters born circa 1999 and 2003, respectively.
- Operated Cherry Blossoms Boutique through the 2010s.
- Managed and later listed the family property in 2015 and again in subsequent years.
- Holds occasional film/production credits in independent projects.
The record is practical. It supplies years, names, and activities — a measured collection of public facts that sketch a life more by duties than by headlines.
