Leslie G. Hendrickson, 85, of 298 15th Ave., town of Rome in Adams County died Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at his home.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday in the banquet room of Lake Arrowhead Golf Course, 1195 Apache Lane, Town of Rome. The Rev. James Steinbrecher will officiate. Burial of cremains will take place at a later date in Poplar Cemetery.
The family will greet relatives and friends in the banquet room of Lake Arrowhead Golf Course from 1-2 p.m.
Leslie was born Jan. 11, 1923, in Wentworth to Henry and Bonnie Ruth Hendrickson. He graduated from Superior Central High School in 1941 and then attended aircraft mechanics school. In spring of 1943, Leslie was drafted into the War Labor Program and was required to take a "short farming course" at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was then assigned to work at Wern Farms Dairy, Waukesha. He worked there until 1950.
On Oct. 21, 1944, Leslie married Idabelle Cornell of Genesee. They raised two children, Michael Hendrickson and Lee Ann Hendrickson-Weitekamp.
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He began working at Metropolitan Life Insurance in June of 1950. Les excelled in sales and received many awards. He was promoted to the West Allis district as manager and then to regional manager.
Les assisted in the "think tank" at the Met Life home office in New York City. He also taught insurance classes for Met Life in the field training division. He retired from this company in 1983 and ran his own private insurance company until the year 2000.
Leslie enjoyed baseball and was a pitcher for the Genesee Land of Lakes baseball team for many years. He also pitched softball for the Waukesha Wern Farms team. He was a golf member at the Merrill Hills Golf Course, Waukesha and on the Men's 9 Hole League at Lake Arrowhead GC, Nekoosa. Les enjoyed playing cards, especially with the 50-year old Sheep's Head Club that he helped originate. He also enjoyed basketball, bowling, traveling and dancing. Leslie was a member in the Footnotes Dance Club.
In 1992, Leslie married Rita Roder, North Prairie and the two took residence at Lake Arrowhead in Nekoosa.
Before moving to Lake Arrowhead from Waukesha County, Les was a member of All Saints Lutheran Church in Wales where he was on the counsel and ushered. He has been a member at Woodland Lutheran Church in the Town of Rome since moving to Lake Arrowhead.
Les was a loving husband, father, and grandfather.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Rita; two children, Michael (Sandy) Hendrickson of Waukesha and Lee Ann Hendrickson-Weltekamp of Grand Rapids, Wis.; 12 stepchildren, Jim (Alice) Roder of Tucson, Ariz., Tom (Jerie) Roder of Waukesha, Carol Roder of Phoenix, Ariz., Jerry (Tina) Roder, of Waukesha, Ken (Luz) Roder of Rockledge, Fla., Karen (John) Vick of North Prairie, Wis., Edward (Becky) Roder of Palmyra, Wis., Jane Will of Mukwonago, Wis., Larry (Christine) Roder of Michigan City, Ind., Charlie Roder of Davenport, Fla., Renee (Lewie) Drake of Madison, Jenny (John) Nygaard of Menomonee Falls, Wis.; five grandchildren, Scott, Troy, Lesley, Ashley and Kelsey; 21 step-grandchildren, Sonya, Anna, Adam, Tracie, Heidi, Christine, Shawn, Josh, Natasha, Jessie, Sherry, Eric, Ben, Shannon, Sara, Sharon, Meghan, Patrick, Liam, Johnny, and Brooklyn; three great-grandchildren, Joel, Will and Bryce.
He is further survived by his sister, Fran Brooks of Portand, Ore., several nieces, nephews, and other relatives, and many caring friends at Lake Arrowhead.
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Leslie was preceded in death by his first wife, Idabelle; parents, Henry and Bonnie Ruth Hendrickson; two brothers, Ray and Ralph Hendrickson; and two sisters, Evelyn Smedberg and Mabel Beud.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated to Woodland Lutheran Church in the town of Rome, the American Cancer Society or Ministry Home Care Hospice of Marshfield.
Feldner/Ritchay Funeral Home in Nekoosa, (715) 886-3161, is assisting the family.
