Cecil L. Hendershott

Cecil Leonard Hendershott
Born March Sixth, 1924 in Shawnee Oklahoma. The son of Chester Earl Hendershott and Ora Florence Hendershott. Cecil grew up in the area of Dale, Oklahoma, which is just West of Shawnee. Cecil completed his education at age 14 in the Dale school system. Cecil attended the Church of God 7th day at Hodie and then helped build the original Midway Church of God between Tecumseh and Shawnee.
In 1941, he met his future wife, Alice Jeanette Ling, at a General Conference Camp meeting in Stanberry MO. A moving post script, that he wrote in Jeanette's autograph book will be shared later. He moved to Rockford, Illinois where he took up employment working in a manufacturing plant.
Cecil and Jeanette (she did not like the name Alice) were married on Feb 3, 1943 in Dale, Oklahoma by Pastor Burt Marrs. Along came their first child, Doris Wilverna, in November of 1943 in New Auburn, Wisconsin. Cecil was drafted into the Army in October 1944. He deployed into the European Theater after boot camp. The 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Division is recognized by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a liberating unit for their work securing the sub camps of Dacahu Concentration Camp. He was also attached to the 7th Army under General's Patton and Eisenhower. It was during this time that he received a birth announcement of a child, but it was not filled out so he did not know the name of, or gender of his newborn child. He was later notified that he had a son, Cecil Leonard Hendershott. He was supposed to be Junior, but someone forgot to put on the birth certificate that he would be Junior. He was discharged from the Infantry in April of 1946 in Wisconsin.
At this point in his life, Cecil started working in the dairy farm business where he supposedly broke a wrench due to the extreme cold. Not enjoying the cold climate, they packed up and moved back to Dale, OK where they tried to raise blackberries, but with two consecutive crop failures, Cecil and family bought a new truck and moved to California where he tried to start a trucking company. Sometime after this venture, he returned to Dale where he gained a job at Tinker Air Force Base. It was at this point in time that Cecil started taking flying lessons. Two instructors crashed and were killed, so Cecil gave up on trying to get his pilot license. Cecil worked as a mechanic and was a tow truck driver and a semi truck driver at Tinker Air Force Base until he retired in 1973. While working at Tinker Air Force Base, Cecil and Jeanette had three more kids, Glen Wayne in 1952, Dale Edward in 1953 and Barbara Eileen in 1955.
With most of his kids in Denver, Cecil and Jeanette moved closer to their kids and grandkids. He then worked for James Drilling where he worked with his son Glen, then Marmon Keystone Pipe and Tubing before he really retired in 1987.
Over the years, Cecil enjoyed hunting and fishing with his kids and friends. He also was an avid camper and loved to travel around the country. His favorite food was a big hamburger with lots of Mayo. Jeanette passed away in 2006, after sixty three years of marriage to Cecil. Cecil passed away on May 12th 2011. He was preceded in death by his mom and dad, two brothers and one grandchild. He is survived by his sister, Joyce Mauldin of Shawnee Oklahoma;
his five children, 13 grandchildren, 13 great grand-children and two great-great-grand children and will be greatly missed. In an autograph book belonging to Jeanette a from camp meeting in 1941, where many of her friends wrote good wishes, it is noted on dad's post script, he said "Dearest Jeanette, in your mud-puttle of love, let a tad-pole wiggle for me please..Ha"