Obituary of Rodney Kent Hendrickson

 

March 23, 1936 - Camrose, Alberta

July 8, 2023 - Calgary, Alberta

 

 

Major R.K. Hendrickson, CD (ret), RCE, was born in Camrose, AB, on March 23, 1936, to Phyllis (nee Hilland) and Clarence Hendrickson. He was raised in Bawlf until the family moved to Vernon, B.C. in 1951, where he attended Vernon Cadet Camp.

 

Rodney graduated from Royal Roads Canadian Services College in 1956 and the Royal Military College of Canada in 1958. He received his Civil Engineering degree at the University of Alberta in 1959. After being promoted to major in 1968, he attended the Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham, England.

 

Rodney married Helen Heather Hendrickson (nee Markle) of Chilliwack, B.C. in 1961.

 

Rodney had a full and varied military career, including a peacekeeping operation in the Gaza Strip in 1960, and serving with the United Nations Observer Group India/Pakistan in 1972. After Pakistan, he was posted to the School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack as Commanding Officer.  In 1977, Rodney was seconded to the Atomic Energy Control Board where he was Project Coordinator for the clean-up of radioactive waste in the Town of Port Hope, Ontario. In 1980, he worked with the Mines and Range Clearance group at the Defense Research Establishment, Suffield, Alberta. He then spent a good many years in Ottawa where he was posted to the Directorate of Construction Engineering Management Procedures at NDHQ. When he retired from the military, he moved his family to Calgary while he joined the Public Service as Construction Manager for the Defense Research Establishment in Suffield.

 

Rodney was a loyal and devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend. He loved and supported us all in any way he could and was a vital part of our everyday lives right up until the end.  We miss him dearly. He had the most beautiful smile. You could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.

 

He was ahead of his time in so many ways – from building his own child carrier, to eating health-foods, running to keep fit, tracking his fitness before there were fitness apps, cycle-commuting when no-one else did it, and collecting knowledge and devouring books so that he was a resource before there was Google. 

 

Besides his loving wife, Heather, Rodney is survived by his four children, Patricia (Michael) Cormier, John Hendrickson, Susan (Matt Potter) Hendrickson, and Peter (Tracy White) Hendrickson; and by his six grandchildren, Nicholas Hendrickson, Margaret Cormier, Bishop Thornton, Peter Cormier, Andrew Cormier, and Malin Hendrickson; and by his great-grandchildren, Alexis Leason and Harlow Thornton.

 

Rodney is also survived by his two sisters, Beverley Fester (nee Hendrickson) of Vernon, B.C. and Linda Brown (nee Hendrickson) of Salmon Arm, B.C.

 

Rodney was predeceased by his infant brother Laverne Hendrickson and will rest alongside him in the Bawlf cemetery.

 

A Celebration of Rodney’s Life will be held at McInnis & Holloway (Crowfoot, 82 Crowfoot Circle NW, Calgary, AB), on Friday, August 4, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Family and friends who are unable to attend in person are invited to join Rodney’s service streamed live (see below) on the day of the service. For those who are unable to view live, a recording of the service will be posted. Condolences, memories, and photos can also be shared and viewed here.

 

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the YMCA https://www.ymcacalgary.org/donate

 

In living memory of Rodney Hendrickson, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200.

 

Click Here to View Rodney Hendrickson's Memorial Card

 

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