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Dennis Ralph Hendrickson, 83, Montpelier, ND, died Sunday, March 23, 2014 at Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck, ND.
Dennis was born on November 14th, 1930, on the family farm in Ypsilanti Township which was located near the river between Ypsilanti and Montpelier. He was the son of Ralph Hendrickson and Grace Delphine (Hanson) Hendrickson and the first of two children. He attended Jamestown High School and graduated in 1950. Following graduation, for a short time Dennis worked for the railroad.
On June 25th, 1952 he married Dorothy Anne Aljoe, daughter of John and Marie (Janz) Aljoe, at the Montpelier Lutheran Church. Their first home was in Jamestown, where they lived with Dennis’s sister, Sonia, until they built a small 1 bedroom home on the family farm.
In 1960, they added 2 bedrooms and a bathroom onto the house. Dennis farmed with his father, Ralph, on the family farm which was homesteaded by Chris Hendrickson, in 1898, until Ralph passed away in 1970. Dennis then purchased the land and continued farming.
Over the years, he rented out stack movers, made and sold hay, grew small grains and raised cattle. In the early 70’s, he took a trip to Washington to learn about irrigation. When he returned, he purchased irrigation equipment for the land along the river. For several years, he grew potatoes and the fields located along the James River were irrigated. The potatoes were sold locally and some were donated to the Montpelier School. He eventually turned the farming decisions over to his son Dwight, but continued to help in the field until November of 2013. His favorite farm season was haying season.
In 2000, Dennis and Dorothy moved into a small house in Montpelier. In November 2012, Dennis moved into the Heritage Center to be closer to Dorothy, who was residing at Ave Maria Village. Dennis was active in the church and also served on the Montpelier School Board for several years. In the late 60’s, early 70’s, he drove school bus for the Montpelier School. He loved to hunt and made several trips to the Skattum farm in Montana to hunt elk, bear, etc. Each year, opening day of deer hunting was a big event. Dennis always hunted with his son, Dwight, and best friend, Harold Cumber and his son Steve. This provided a 3-4 mile stretch along the James River and a portion of the Beaver Creek of prime deer hunting haven. Over the years, the group grew to include other hunters. In the evenings they would talk about the deer they got and the one’s that got away. Later in years, Dennis would also bow hunt, this sport brought even more stories and more friends/family to participate and left lasting memories.
Dennis also loved playing baseball, making sure that when he was married to Dorothy it didn’t interfere with any of the games. When Dennis was in his 60’s, he played softball on his son’s team thinking he could hit better. He enjoyed hitting, just not the base running. Dennis loved bowling and was on many teams over the years and attended many ABC tournaments across the United States. Those that knew Dennis best, knew about his love for playing cards and he played cards whenever he could find even just one person to play. Dennis, Dorothy and Sonia played many games over the years.
Dennis is survived by his wife, Dorothy of 61 years; one son, Dwight (Janet) Hendrickson, Ypsilanti, ND; two daughters, Dorinda Brown (Brian Andres), Medina ND, Dianne (Randy) Oberlander, Edmond, OK. He has nine grandchildren, JoAnna Brown (Dennis Hartsoch), Tioga, ND, Renee Brown (Jerome Wimer), Millarton, ND, April Hendrickson, Jamestown, ND, Kristen (Scott) Lynch, Snohomish, WA, Kyler Hendrickson (Amy Vonderharr), Shane and Ryan Hendrickson, Lincoln, NE, Kellie (Justen) Vinson, Harrah, OK, and Jesse Oberlander, Edmond, OK; two great-grandchildren, Trevor Tollefson (Cassandra Hanson), Ypsilanti, ND and MaKoti Hartsoch, Tioga, ND; one sister, Sonia Berg, Jamestown, ND; two brothers-in-law, Darrell (Crystal) Aljoe , Roscoe, TX, Everrett Aljoe, Auburn,WA. He has eight nephew/nieces.
Dennis was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Funeral Service: 3:30 p.m., Saturday, March 29, 2014 at Ave Maria Village Chapel, Jamestown, with Pastor Terry Anderson and Deacon Tom Geffre officiating.
Visitation: 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Friday, March 28th, 2014 at Williams-Lisko Funeral Chapel, Jamestown.
Prayer Service: 7 P.M. Friday, March 28th, 2014 at Williams-Lisko Funeral Chapel, Jamestown.
Interment: Sunset Memorial Gardens, Jamestown.
An online guest book is available at liskofuneralchapel.com.