Julie Hendrickson

Julie May (Anderson) Hendrickson, “the crazy bird lady” 57, passed away unexpectedly on November 20, 2021 due to a brain aneurysm.

Julie was born September 24, 1964 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  As a child, her family moved around for her father’s work, between Minnesota, California, and North Carolina.  She graduated from RJ Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1983 and went on to attend Cosmetology school in Charlotte; she later took Accounting courses at Lake Superior College.  She worked various jobs including the Remote Encoding Center in Duluth and API in Two Harbors.

While in high school, she was a member of the “Dancing Boots” dance line and would perform at various school functions and games and would also participate in competitions.  Julie had a very close-knit group of friends from her neighborhood and school in North Carolina; they remained close and in contact throughout the years.  Although she moved to Minnesota, she was always a North Carolina girl at heart (and she never lost that strong southern accent nor the desire to return to NC!!).

Julie enjoyed watching NASCAR, doting on her cockatiels, playing on her computer, checking social media, sun tanning as much as she could (even though she had severe, adverse reactions to the sun), hibernating in the winters and spending time with her family – especially her mom, Pat, and her grandson, Braxton.

Although she was unaware of it, and would probably deny it, she was strong.  She was a single mom.  She was a recovered alcoholic.  She overcame cirrhosis of the liver, breast cancer and then the loss of her daughter, Sam, in August of this year.  After Sam’s passing, Julie actively advocated for mental health and addiction awareness and help.

She was preceded in death by her father, Rodney Anderson; daughter, Samantha Rose Hendrickson; grandparents, Elof and Violet Anderson and Robert and Doris Sansom.

Julie is survived by her mother, Pat Anderson of Two Harbors; brothers David (Diane) Anderson of Lisbon Falls, Maine and Dale (Courtney) Anderson of Two Harbors; grandson, Braxton Theiling (13) and his father, Dereck Theiling; ex-husband, Dan Hendrickson; stepdaughters, Jenny (Gregg) Kangas and Brandie (Chris) Roy; aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, many friends, and her beloved cockatiels, Sunny and Angel.

Julie’s family is working with LifeSource to help Julie help others through organ donation.  Hopefully a part of her will live on and will allow others to have healthy and happy lives and more time with their families.

Private ceremony for the family will be held at a later date.

For more information on organ, eye, and tissue donation, and how you can help, please visit: https://www.life-source.org/