Colonel William John Hendell (retd) passed away peacefully on Friday November 2, 2018 after a brief fight with pancreatic cancer. Known as Bill to all who knew, and loved him, he was the respected patriarch of a large family to whom he was revered.
Bill Hendell was born on May 23, 1945 in Mount Vernon, New York to William and Kathleen Hendell. Over his childhood, he moved many times with his Air Force father and lived in New York, Mississippi, the Philippines and Okinawa, where he graduated from Kubasaki High School.
Bill entered military service, as a private, in 1963 and continued his service for the next 29 ½ years. In the years to follow, he served throughout Southeast Asia, the continental United States, and more than 5 years in Germany. Bill was an accomplished soldier and his potential quickly identified. He attended the Signal Officer Candidate School at Fort Gordon, Georgia and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1966 as a Distinguished Military Graduate. He then trained as a fixed-wing (and later rotary-wing) aviator and deployed to Vietnam. Subsequent assignments led to his ultimate promotion to his final rank of Colonel and retirement in 1993. Key achievements over those years include multiple command tours at the detachment, company and battalion (2nd Battalion 58th Aviation Regiment) levels, designation as a dual-rated Master Army Aviator (U-21, 0-1, UH-1 and OH-58), graduation from the U.S. Army War College, and service as a senior staff member in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Bill’s decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, 6 Meritorious Service Medals, the Bronze Star, 16 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, and an array of service and campaign awards from service in Europe and South Vietnam.
Bill continued to work after his military retirement as a manager for several Northern Virginia companies and in a final position at Walmart in Fredericksburg.
Bill was a devoted husband and enjoyed 49 years and 11 months of marriage to Carol Anne Hendell. This union produced 6 children, 15 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. Bill was preceded in death by his bride in 2016 and his beloved oldest daughter, Shannon Anne Hickok, in 2014. He is survived by his son, SFC William J. Hendell (U.S. Army retd), of Karns City, PA; his son, LTC Matthew T. Hendell, of York, PA; his son, Thomas M. Hendell, Esquire, of Charlottesville, VA; his son, Michael N. Hendell, of Atlanta, GA; his youngest daughter, Suzannah N. Young, of Fredericksburg, VA; his sisters, Christine Hendell, of Atlanta, GA, and Patricia Elliott, of Michigan; and their spouses, children, and grandchildren.
Bill was a man of great intensity, purpose, and humanity who devoted his life to family and service. He will be missed by all who had the privilege to know him.