Donna E Hendrick Obituary (1926

Life of Donna Eileen Hendrick Donna Eileen Hendrick was born on May 29, 1926 in North Plate Nebraska to Charlotte Faye McMurry & Nathan Anderson. Her parents were both farmers on the plains of Nebraska. Donna began life on a old farm with her brother Robert (Bob) Anderson, her sister Faye Irwin, her sister Firn Koski, her brother Roy Anderson. Later came her younger sister Dolores Andrews, her sister Joan Schmidt and her brother Jerry Anderson. At the age of three, Donna caught scarlet fever, and as a result, lost her hearing. As she got old enough to attend school, she attended a school for the deaf. Although main streaming of challenged children was not considered then, she did attend some public schools with the help of her younger sister Dolores. Donna was given chores, as with the rest of her brothers & sisters. Hers included feeding the chickens & herding the cows out to the pasture and back every day. She spent many hours with her Sister Dolores playing under the trees in the meadow. Life on the farm was hard, however, she did have many good memories, such as, when Grandma & Grandpa went off visiting and left the kids under the watchful eye of her older sister Faye. Donna remembers sliding down off the roof of the barn into a hay pile. When she was seven, she remembers sitting in the dark attic with Dolores and lighting matches so they could look at old family photographs. When the match was nearly out, she would through it down onto a pile of Roy's clothes. Apparently the clothes caught fire and caused a mad scramble by everyone to get it put out. In 1936, at ten years old, the entire family decided to move to Salida California. Soon after arrival, Grandma gave birth to a set of twins, a brother Charles(Jack)and a sister Charlotte(Jill). The family again moved into an old farm house began to farm the land. Only 14 months later the twins both died of pneumonia. In 1938, the family moved again, this time to Modesto California. Grandma gave birth to another sister Vicky Anderson. Donna remembers having to quit school so she could take care of Vicky while her mother worked the farm. In 1939 Grandma gave birth to her last brother James (Jim) Anderson. In 1941, Grandpa had had enough of farming and decided to move the family to Oakland California where he started work as a carpenter. Donna returned to school and graduated from University High School. Donna credits Dolores for being her ears during all this time and helping her understand all the subjects in school. In fact, many of the pictures taken during that time, shows the sisters looking like twins. Upon graduation Donna worked and continued to live at home. In 1946, Donna met Robert Calvin Hendrick. Robert, or 'Jack' as most his family & friends knew him. Jack was a medium tall, dark haired, handsome 20 year old man from just down Arlington Street. Jack had recently returned from the War, where he served in the Merchant Marines on ocean going tug boats. After a short one year courtship and Donna & Jack were married on August 24, 1946. They moved in with Dad's family on Arlington Street. Mom says this was especially difficult because Dad's Grandmother also lived there, and she was not particularly happy with mom. On February 23, 1948, mom gave birth to a son, Rick. By then they had moved next door to Dad's parent's house, into to a small duplex apartment. Dad was working for Lucky's as a grocery clerk and mom was a homemaker. Another son, Danny, was born on November 16, 1950. At this point the apartment became too small & so in 1952 Dad decided to move the family to a new little 3 bedroom house Union City California. Dad continued to work in the grocery industry and mom continued to be a homemaker. Her hobbies & interests included, sewing, reading, working in the yard and visiting with friends & family. Mom was finally able to get a hearing aid and life really began to change, especially for Rick & Danny. Now mom could hear every word being said. In January 1956, Mom & Dad decided to move again to Niles, California, which later became known as Fremont. Mom continued to stay at home with kids, while taking on small jobs, such as, ironing and Elementary school Teacher's Aid. Mom made many friends in the neighborhood, as the area was filled with many young families. As Rick & Dan reached high school age, Mom decided to go to work in the Electronic industry. In 1964, she took a production position at Teledyne Semiconductors in Sunnyvale California. She held numerous positions throughout her 25 year career at that same company. Mom & Dad moved in 1969 to a mobile home park in Sunnyvale, which greatly improved her work commute. Apparently this location did not suit them, and in 1971, they moved back to new condominium complex in North Fremont. Mom soon talked Danny & Rick both into moving into the same complex. Mom was close to both her kids and now two her grand children, Carol Ann Hendrick, born to Danny in December 1969 and Jamie Christine, born to Rick in October 1971. In 1984, Mom & Dad moved into the Glenmore Green Apartments, where they stayed until Dad's death in February 1986. Mom moved briefly into another mobile home park in Union City, then, in 1988, she moved into her home in Hayward California. Mom retired from Teledyne in 1988 at 25 years of service. Since then she had many trips around the country, such as, to Washington to visit Dan, Southern California to see Joan, Jerry & Jim, to Louisiana for a family reunion. In 2007, Mom had her gaul bladder removed. During that time in the Hospital, Rick's wife Nancy was able to prompt her into wanting to make her peace with the Lord. And, while still in the hospital bed, Rick was able to lead her to a personal relationship with Jesus. 2009 Mom fell & it was determined that she needed full time care. We moved her to an assisted living facility near Rick in El Dorado Hills, where she lived until her death on April 2, 2012. She was 85 years old. We will miss her very much. Rest in god's peace.