Thomas Andrew Hendrickson

Tom was born in Pueblo, Colorado during the great Influenza Pandemic that killed millions of people worldwide. His mother and father both contracted the flu. His mother died the day he was born, and his father died the next day. Tom and his older sister Helen Lucile were raised by their aunt and grandmother, who owned and operated boarding houses during the Depression. Tom took a typing class in high school, and his first job was as a typist at the steel mill in Pueblo. He then entered the School of Mines in Golden, and his aunt built a boarding house near the school, where they lived while he attended college. He earned a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in WWII, he wanted to sign up. So he tried to join the Air Force to be a pilot, but he wasn't accepted. When he asked why, they said that although he had perfect eyes, they needed ""better than perfect."" Then he tried to join the Army, but was turned down because of his hay fever (allergies). Then he tried the Navy, and was accepted. When he told the Navy recruiter about his hay fever, the recruiter replied ""That's OK. Where we're sending you, there ain't no hay!"" He couldn't swim, so during the Navy swimming test, his method was to sink to the bottom and then push off to the surface for air. He was one of the first ones in the pool, and the very last one out. He believed if his ship ever sank, he would go down with it. When he was on shore leave in California, he met and married Ella Mae Smith, who worked in a ship-building plant. He was a Lieutenant in charge of the engine room of the USS Doyen (APA-1), an ""Attack Transport"" ship. He was present at many invasions in the Pacific, including Attu, Kiska, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniewetok, Tinian, Leyte, Samar, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Inchon. He was also in charge of the Doyen's Higgins Boats (landing craft that carried troops to the islands). On D-Day at Iwo Jima, he was in the ""first wave"" of landing crafts. He was not in the ""second wave"", when the Japanese opened fire. The USS Doyen also served as a hospital ship that took the wounded to Hawaii for further medical attention. When he was in his 70's and 80's he enjoyed attending the yearly reunions of the USS Doyen. He loved the Navy and had many interesting stories, including watching Kamikazi pilots attack ships, seeing waterspouts (tornadoes) on the ocean, and the time he stepped out on deck right when a big ship's gun went off near his head, bursting his eardrums. The men of the USS Doyen compiled some of their stories in a book called ""Attack Transport, The Story of the USS Doyen APA-1"". After the war, he was employed by several mining companies in the sulphur, phosphate rock, and potash industries. He later settled down with Cameron Engineers, where he spent the rest of his career as a consultant to oil shale and oil sands companies. He bought 30 acres of land in Elbert County, Colorado where he spent several years building his own energy-efficient home, working on his weekends and vacations. He enjoyed gardening, and he especially enjoyed planting Ponderosa Pine trees on his land. He said the rolling plains of Elbert County reminded him of the ocean. He had a very intelligent mind, and was always curious and willing to learn, even in his last days. Tom was preceded in death by his wife Ella Mae, son Bruce, and daughter Susan Applegate. Survived by his sister Helen Lucile Geopfarth (and husband Bill), daughter Cheryl Larscheidt (and former husband Randy), granddaughter Cathy Herschberger (husband Chad), great grandson Eban, nephews Roger and Bob Geopfarth (wives Bonnie and Kathy), sister-in-law Sharon Callow, nephew Wade Callow, nieces Penny and Jean Smith, and many friends. Per his request there was cremation with no services.