Jeremy Hendrickson

Jeremy Hendrickson 33 of Roslyn passed away Wednesday December 9, 2015 at Sanford Hospital in Fargo. Funeral services will be at 10:30 A.M. Saturday, December 19, 2015 at Roslyn Event Center. Pastor Janet Johnson will officiate. Burial will be at Fron Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation will be 5-7 P.M. Friday at Fron Lutheran Church ending with a 7 P.M. prayer service. In lieu of flowers the family prefers memorials be made to: Dacotah Bank c/o Jeremy Hendrickson Benefit, PO Box 596 Webster, SD 57274 or Dacotah Bank c/o Jeremy Hendrickson Benefit 506 Main Street Roslyn, SD 57261. Jeremy James Hendrickson was born on August 5, 1982 to Jon and Judy (Steiner) Hendrickson at Watertown, South Dakota. He was baptized and confirmed at Fron Lutheran Church. He attended Roslyn School and graduated from RHS in 2001. While in high school Jeremy was quite the athlete participating in basketball, football and baseball. He was proud to be part of the RHS teams which qualified for two state B basketball tournaments. After high school he moved to Watertown and worked at Pro Build (formally UBC) until 2011 when he returned home to farm after his dad, Jon’s, untimely death. On August 25, 2012 Jeremy married the love of his life and high school sweetheart, Leslie Opitz, at Spearfish Canyon Lodge, Spearfish Canyon. After their marriage the couple made their home on the Hendrickson family farm northwest of Roslyn. On March 7, 2014, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, Henlie, to this world. A short 16 months later on July 13, 2015, their son, Rally, was born. Jeremy and Leslie were just finishing the final touches on their beautiful new home at the time of Jeremy's passing. Jeremy was a loving father and husband whose entire world was his family; he was so proud to be a Dad! He and Henlie shared a special bond and loved doing anything outside together. She was quite the daddy’s girl who loved going on four-wheeler and tractor rides, checking the cattle and crops, hauling grain and playing with the kitties. Jeremy loved telling Rally stories of farming and how he couldn’t wait to have him be out on the farm with him. He would come in the house and say, “Rally, go chase those cows in or let’s go open gates!” Jeremy was an avid deer hunter and fisherman. Every year when opening deer season rolled around he was always on the lookout for that trophy buck, aka “the monster”. He was so proud of his non-typical monster buck he shot in 2012, that he had it mounted to display proudly. In his younger years, he hunted waterfowl and pheasants; however, as the years went on, he lost interest, but he more so enjoyed the presence of the birds and pheasants. He was so loving and caring when it came to animals. It was not uncommon for Jeremy to feed every stray cat in the area. With that said, Rascal, Jeremy’s house cat was like another child to him. He was so proud of that cat and it slept with him every night. His love for the outdoors carried into the winter and summer months as well. He loved to ice fish with good friends and always kept his "hot spots" a secret. In the summer months Jeremy loved taking his family to the Hendrickson cabin on Pickerel Lake. A place he made cherished memories as a child with his parents, brother, grandparents and extended family. He enjoyed the special outings with his grandpa Jim out on the boat; fishing and enjoying the beauty around them. In the most recent years he loved giving jet ski rides, especially to his favorite daddy's girl, Henlie. She loved it just as much as he loved showing her off. After his father’s passing in 2011, he was honored to be able to take over the family farm and carry on the Hendrickson farming traditions with his grandpa Jim, by his side as his mentor. He relished the morning ritual of checking his crops and their progress from the day to day. Much like his crops, Jeremy took the same amount of pride in his cattle. He was very particular how he cared for his calves and wanted them fed a certain way. Every year when it came time to sell them, he struggled sending them down the road. They had become his pets in which he always had a huge heart for. Jeremy and his brother, Travis, had grown quite close in the past years hanging out on the farm and working together. Every chance he could get, he was calling Travis and asking him if he was coming home to help. He loved having his little brother around as he said quite often, Travis kept him motivated. Jeremy had a high regard for his hometown of Roslyn, in which he was born and raised. Jeremy was a faithful man and loved his church, where he served on the church council. He was proud to be living and raising his family in his small-town community surrounded by people he knew and loved. He made it his morning ritual to come into town to get his "mountain dews" for the day and visit with "the guys" at coffee. Over the years, upon moving back to the area, Jeremy was blessed to have formed many genuine friendships. Those that knew him best could attest to his loyalty for his family and friends. He had a generous heart and was willing to lend a helping hand to anyone and everyone. God blessed Jeremy with a radiant personality. Along with his kind heart, this was one of his greatest attributes. He had a smile that could brighten anyone’s day and the kind of demeanor that made it impossible to be anything but happy in his presence. He leaves us with grateful memories that we will cherish forever. He will be sadly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him and loving him. Jeremy's final act of kindness was to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. He continues to give in death as he gave in life and his donation will touch the lives of so many. Jeremy passed into the Father's arms, with his loving family by his side, on Wednesday December 9, 2015 at the age of 33 years, 4 months and 4 days. He will be greatly missed by his wife Leslie; their two children, Henlie and Rally Hendrickson, of Roslyn, SD; his mother, Judy Hendrickson, of Roslyn, SD; his brother, Travis (Shelby) Hendrickson, of Aberdeen, SD; his paternal grandparents, Jim and Farol Hendrickson, of Roslyn, SD; his maternal grandmother, MaryAnn Steiner, of Eden, SD; his father/mother-in-law, Wayne and Jenene Opitz, of Roslyn, SD; one brother-in-law, Jason Opitz, of Fargo, ND; three sisters-in-law, Amy (Waylin) Buss, of Brandon, SD, Stacey (Nick) Helseth, of Sioux Falls, SD and, Shannon (Tyler) Lee, of Roslyn, SD; and his nieces and nephews, Austin, Jackson, Ashton, Madison, Ryken, Axton, Landen and Londyn. Jeremy was preceded in death by his dad, Jon Hendrickson, in July 2011; his maternal grandfather, Kenneth Steiner; and his cousin, Michael Pies.