James Henry Hendrickson

Master Sergeant James "Jim" Henry Hendrickson died Friday, July 9, 2021, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was born in Cloquet, Minnesota, on August 22, 1940, to Vieno Ellen Jutila and Henry Walfrid Hendrickson. After graduation in 1959 from Silver Bay High School High School in Silver Bay, MN he worked with the US Forestry Service. Jim enlisted in the Air Force in February 1960 as a Munitions Maintenance Specialist. He married Judith Elaine Dietrich on February 20, 1962, in St. Louis, MN. They began their orbit together on the same day that Astronaut John Glenn made history as the first American to orbit the earth. He made three orbits around the earth, they made nearly 60 orbits around the sun.

During his Air Force career, Jim was stationed at Ellesworth AFB, SD; K.I. Sawyer AFB, MI; Sandia Air Base, NM; Tyndall AFB, FL; Pease AFB, NH; Carswell AFB, TX; Kirtland AFB, NM; RAF Lakenheath, UK; Grand Forks, ND; and remote assignments in North Africa and South Korea. After retiring from the Air Force in February 1986, Jim became a civil servant and continued his dedicated service in support of our National Defense at Kelly AFB, TX and Hill AFB, UT. He finally retired from "46 years of Air Force Service" in 2006. After retirement he continued to pursue his hobbies of golf, fishing, hunting, dad jokes, and skeet shooting, where he earned several awards including the US Armed Forces Championship.

Jim was predeceased by his parents, his sister, Marian Mohn, his brother Clarence, and his son-in-law, Scott Solomonson. He is survived by his wife and four children and their spouses: Michele Solomonson and Mike Weidig, Kent and Olympia, Sean and Pauleta, and Danielle Hendrickson and David Flores; and by seven grandchildren; his sister Darlene Yoney and his brother Rodney; as well as by several nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Funeral service will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 7701 Candelaria Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110, on Saturday, July 17, 2021, at 11 am. Reception to follow.

Interment will be at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas at a later date.

The family suggests that those who wish to make a contribution in Jim's memory consider the Peacekeeper Memorial (part of the Museum Artifact Center, MAC) at the National Museum of Nuclear History and Science, 601 Eubank Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM, Albuquerque NM 87123-3378 or online at https://www.nuclearmuseum.org/support/donations. Please annotate the contribution to go to the MAC in memory of MSgt. Jim Hendrickson.