Harold Thomas Hendrickson

Harold had five siblings and grew up during the Great Depression in Long Island, NY. His parents struggled but managed to put all their children through school. To earn money on the side, Harold and his brother Herb would go door to door selling lilacs. As a young boy Harold was no stranger to trouble. He and his brother Collins were caught sneaking into the local zoo and had to clean out the elephant enclosure as punishment. On Sunday mornings when he and Collins had to walk to church, oftentimes they would divert to a nearby pond. Paying particular attention to not getting too dirty they would dutifully return home after the requisite “church” hour. During High School Harold gained a passion for wrestling and won numerous awards and championships in his weight class. Upon graduation in 1950 Harold worked at the Amityville Laundry shop for 75c/hr for two weeks. However, since math was his strongest subject, he quickly realized that the local Norjax Box company paying $1.45/hr was a much better fit for him. He worked there until being drafted in June 1952. Due to the Korean War, boot camp was accelerated and Harold was sent to California in Oct for deployment. After landing in Japan he was selected to attend a four month radio communications school in Japan prior to shipping off to Korea. He arrived in country in May and saw limited action due to the armistice being signed at the end of July 1953. Harold re-enlisted in the Army and was sent to Heilbron, Germany. As a senior communications operator he spent the majority of his time monitoring Soviet communications in East Germany. While serving as best man at his friend’s wedding Harold was smitten by the maid of honor, Erika Iske. In 1959 he and Erika were married and had four children. In what can only be described as “unheard of”, Harold somehow managed to manipulate the US Army into stationing him in Germany for three successive stints separated by one year tours in the US. After 24 years, Harold retired from the Army to Newport News, Va. in 1976. He returned to government service as a civilian employee and worked in the payroll Finance Office at Fort Eustis. In 1993 Harold once again retired from government service. Erika and he relocated to a 55 and older community in Ocala, Fl in 1995. They participated in numerous club activities together and Harold spent many years as a member of their neighborhood watch and veterans group. They took over 30 cruises together and enjoyed visiting their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. In Oct 2023 they moved to Canton to be closer to family. A Celebration of Life Service will be held Friday, February 2nd at 10am at Resurrection Anglican Church, 231 Arnold Mill Road, Woodstock, GA. 30188. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. At 12:15pm, there will be a procession to Darby Funeral Home. The interment will be at 2pm at Georgia National Cemetery.

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Harold Thomas Hendrickson

September 14, 1931 - January 28, 2024