The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.



Meet Your Neighbor

 

Meet your neighbor Toni Hendrickson of Stronghurst.

She was born in Memphis, TN. Her father was in the Navy, so they moved every two years. Rhode Island, San Diego, CA, Pensacola, FL, Detroit, MI, and Bremerton, WA are only a few places they moved to. They finally moved to Raritan when Toni started the seventh grade.

Toni married Kyle Hendrickson in May of 1987 at the Baptist Church in Raritan. They met in college at Western Illinois University. They were in the same drafting class, which had 50 boys and 2 girls in it. Kyle is a truck driver. They have three children together. Josiah, 27, is the oldest and is a tattoo artist in San Diego, CA. Holly, 24, is a pastry chef in Jackson, MS. Kylee, is the youngest and is employed at The Alternative in Stronghurst.

Toni's parents are Dick and the late Jeannie Boyd. Dick currently resides in the Veteran's Home in Quincy and is retired from the Navy.

She is the oldest of three siblings. Tim (Anne) Boyd of Raritan is employed by the state through the Department of Archeology. Younger sister Tammy (Pete) Westin lives in La Grange Highlands, a suburb near Chicago where she substitute teaches.

Toni's grandparents are the late Vince and Joyce Arnold of Raritan, and the late John and Dorothy Boyd of Portland, ME.

She graduated with the 1982 class of Southern High School, "The best class from Southern!" She was active in sports including track, basketball, volleyball, and her favorite softball. She was also on the pom pon squad. She attended Judson College in Elgin and Western Illinois University for general education classes.

Toni is currently employed as the director of the Family Outreach Community Center in Stronghurst. "I love my job. I love the people I work with and the people I get to meet."

Previously, she was a teacher's aid at Bushnell-Prairie City Junior High School for 5 years. She was also employed at Small World Daycare for 3 years and provided daycare out of her home when her children were growing up.

She has been a member of the Stronghurst Christian Church for the past 14 years. Toni and her family are active in the church. She has served on the Fellowship and Love Committees. She is also a Cemetery Board Trustee on the Stronghurst Board.

Toni loves to travel, read, play cards and games, go out to eat with friends and family and garden with her husband. They have two adorable pets, Kenzie, a pizza crust eating Westie and Bridget, a beautiful Siamese cat.

The most recent Hendrickson family vacation was last August. They went to Pensacola, FL and spent 3 or 4 days there. They enjoyed their time on the beautiful beaches.

Last February, Toni and Kyle went on a couples trip to Cancun to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. A great time was had by all.

One of her scariest moments came in 1989, when a 7.1 earthquake hit in Mountain View, CA. They were stationed at Moffett Field Naval Air Station. She remembers the kids were little and being really scared and wanting to move back home, but they had to stay another three and a half years.

When asked about her future plans, Toni said she would like to do more mission trips with her husband and go on another vacation some day. She said "I feel I have a very blessed life!"