November 28, 1924 – January 20, 2022

Mildred “Millie” Dorothy Hendriks died on January 20, 2022, in Storm Lake, Iowa. Millie was born November 28, 1924, in Edgerton, Minn., to Arthur and Mary (Brink) Broekhuis. She had five sisters, two brothers, and lived her first 20 years in Edgerton.

After finishing the 8th grade she quit school to work for a family, cooking, cleaning, and caring for their children. She said this is where she learned how to cook. A friend convinced her to complete her studies and two years later she reenrolled and graduated from Edgerton Public High School in 1944. After high school, she travelled by train from Minnesota to San Francisco with an Edgerton friend, whose uncle got them jobs as switchboard operators for the phone company. She said she really loved this job. While living in San Francisco, Millie was part of the celebration out on the streets the day World War II ended. She later returned to Edgerton and was employed as a waitress and worked in Dr. Beckering’s office dispensing medications.

Millie was united in marriage to Wesley Hendriks at her parents’ home on June 21, 1951, in Edgerton. They had four children, Sheila, Brent, Scott, and Renee.

Following their marriage, they remained in Edgerton, then in 1953, moved to Bryan, Texas, where her husband was stationed in the Air Force, and they had their first child. Next, they were stationed in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Millie and her husband drove from Minnesota to Florida towing a camper trailer, which was their home for two years with their first two children, Sheila and Brent.

They returned to Edgerton for a few years and in 1960 moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., then in 1964 moved to Sioux City, Iowa. In 1968 they moved to Storm Lake for 12 years, where they owned and operated Storm Lake School of Hairstyling and the Tavernette restaurant. In 1980, they moved to Fort Collins, Colo., where they owned Colorado Cut and Perm and Hendriks Auctions. Millie also worked as an engraver for a trophy company, another job she really enjoyed. While living in Colorado, they took up motorcycling, belonging to the 40+ Motorcycle Club, exploring Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. The two of them rode to and attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally with members of their club. In the late 1980’s Millie and Wes travelled to Germany and Holland. They took a second trip, rented a BMW motorcycle and rode on a tour of southern Germany and the Alps, with a group of Europeans. They moved back to Edgerton in 1990 and owned the Scoreboard Sports Saloon in Hatfield, Minn. They continued to ride their motorcycle with friends after they returned to Edgerton.

Millie was an instrumental part of the numerous businesses they owned and operated, serving as kitchen manager, bartender, bookkeeper, and receptionist, always there getting it done. For her time, she was an adventurous, well-seasoned woman and traveler.

Millie had a wide variety of experiences as a single woman and then with Wes including trips to Hawaii, Miami, Puerto Rico, Atlantic City, and Las Vegas in the 1960’s and 70’s.

While living in Storm Lake, they made numerous trips with their children in their camper trailer to Washington D.C., New York, Canada, Arkansas, Texas, and Colorado, as well as many campsites in Minnesota.

Millie was a kind, caring, loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and friend. Throughout her life, she always had many friends she enjoyed spending time with, and over the years they all expressed how much they loved having Millie as their friend. She was fun-loving with a great sense of humor, an avid Minnesota Twins fan, loved reading, doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles, plus a good cup of hot coffee. Millie was a devout Christian and member of the First Reformed Church in Edgerton and Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Storm Lake.

She lived in Storm Lake the last five years of her life to be closer to her children and resided on the north shore of the lake at Methodist Manor Retirement Home. Millie passed away peacefully in the early morning of January 20, 2022, at the age of 97. There will be Christian funeral and interment of her ashes in Edgerton at a later date to be announced.

Mildred is survived by her children: Brent Hendriks and wife Debra, of Storm Lake, Iowa; Scott Hendriks and wife Susanna, of Denver, Colo.; Renee and husband Dave Richardson of Glidden, Iowa; son-in-law: William Doyle of Burke, Va.; five grandchildren: Joshua Hendriks and wife Jamie of Indian Hills, Colo.; Tawny Roeder ( Hendriks) and husband Cory of Papillion, Nebr.; Megan Doyle of Richmond, Va.; Kayla Schwanz (Richardson) and husband Jesse of Glidden, Iowa; Michael Richardson and wife Julia of Lincoln, Nebr.; plus eight great-grandchildren. Millie also has three surviving sisters: Anna Marie Hunter and Lorraine De Groot of Edgerton and Ethel Wisse and husband Don of North Haledon, N.J.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Wesley, daughter, Sheila Doyle, grandson. Brian Doyle, parents, Arthur and Mary Broekhuis, parents-in-law, Ben and Lucy (Vander Linden) Hendriks, Ceil (Nelson) Hendriks, sisters, Caroline Van Hulzen and Ethel Margaret (infancy), brothers, Arthur Jr. and Donley “Doc” Broekhuis, brothers-in-law, Duane Hunter, Harold De Groot, Mel Hendriks, and sister-in-law, Linda (Hendriks) Fey.