Birth date: Mar 1, 1945 Death date: Sep 23, 2022
John William Hendrickson, age 77, longtime Okmulgee resident now of Sapulpa. Passed away on September 23, 2022, surrounded by his loved ones. John was born March 1, 1945, in Okmulgee to Haydon and Cleta Glen (Hankins). John marrie Read Obituary
We buried my dad today.
I remember growing up all my friends thought my dad was scary and way to strict. I know when I got into trouble he had one of those voices that could stop you in your tracks and make you rethink your life. He WAS the "get off my lawn" man wayyyy before the meme. I don't know how many people might be walking around Okmulgee today with some kind of tremor or PTSD due to my dad bursting out of the front door to yell "Hey what are you doing?"
There was another side of my dad not many people saw. I remember a time when I was 5 or 6 years old and was having bad dreams. There was one night in particular when I was hearing "scary" noises outside. At first he just told me to get back to bed but when I kept having problems he came in and sat down beside me. He sat there for quite some time as I remember and we would listen to the sounds together. He would explain each one...that's a cat...no that's just a tree branch against the house....that's just the wind. He stayed until I felt better and was able to go to sleep. I'll never forget that.
A lot of people don't know the guy who cried when we had to bury our family pets. I'll never forget that either.
A few days ago my Mom and Dad were having a conversation with someone who asked them..."How long have you been married?" My mom proudly said "50 years". I looked at Dad and his eyes were welled up with tears and he smiled and said "and it couldn't have been any sweeter".
About 10 years ago my dad asked me if he had been a "good" dad. I gave him a hard time about my horrible child hood or always being in trouble. I finally told him yeah, you are a good dad. Today I just wanted to say it in front of everyone.
You did real good dad. Real good.
I grew up in the same block in Okmulgee with John and his family. I have wonderful memories of playing with John and Alice. Mrs. Hendrickson’s Rug Shop was the center of the universe for me as a kid.
My thoughts are with the family at this time.
Jerry Horn in New York
