Betty Tucker Hendrickson
October 26, 1925 – February 17, 2020

Betty Tucker Hendrickson, age 94, of Newtown Square, died peacefully on February 17, 2020.

Betty was born in New York City to Reverend William LeGrand Tucker and Mary Bullington Tucker. She lived in Jersey City and then moved to Newark, New Jersey for eleven years. In 1940 her father became pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Princeton, NJ where she attended Princeton High School.

Betty attended Randolph Macon Women's College in Virginia and obtained her bachelor's degree in economics.  Her interest in economics led her to The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she earned a master's degree.  She followed her passion and knowledge of economics her whole life, and offered clear, well thought-out opinions about everything from the Federal Reserve Chairman to investment strategies.

In 1947 she married John Hamill Hendrickson, a divinity student who was preparing for the Presbyterian ministry at Union Theological Seminary in New York.  John's first church and their first home was in Manchester, New Hampshire. He later served as pastor at churches in Westhampton Beach and Levittown, New York. Between 1949 and 1960 Betty had four children.

They moved to New York City in 1965 when John took a job at Union Theological Seminary. Betty began her own career. She received a second master's degree in Library Science from Columbia University and started work as a children's librarian at P.S. 180. She could always be counted on for choosing the perfect book for her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

After 15 years in New York City, they moved to Peoria, Illinois where she became librarian at Bradley University. There she demonstrated her strong leadership and management skills, serving as acting director before she retired in 1988.

While married, Betty and John visited their beloved cottage in St. Albans Bay, Vermont where they hosted family and friends for more than 50 years.  She loved living on the water and watching the sun rise over the lake.

They retired to Morganwood in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania to be near family in 1992.  The couple became active members of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church and enjoyed a rich retirement of travel, reading, and volunteering.

John died in 2000 and, in 2002, Betty moved to White Horse Village where she resided for the past 18 years. She worked in the library, played bridge, and made many dear friends.

Betty formed deep and lasting friendships in all the many places she lived.  She recently remarked that turning 94 she had outlived many of her friends.  She will be remembered for her intelligence, curiosity, graciousness and disarming humor. She was well read comfortable joining any discussion and always interested in the people she met and their ideas.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, John (d. 2000), and son, Peter Hendrickson (d. 1996), and her sister, Nancy Gerlach (d. 2016). She is survived by her children Mary Virtue (David) of Philadelphia, Robert Hendrickson of Portland, OR, and Nancy Hendrickson of Oakland, CA; grandchildren Kimberly Halsey (Mark), William Pillsbury (Laura), Jasper Arasteh, Sarah Polly (Steve); and great-grandchildren Tory Halsey, Liam Halsey, Elizabeth Pillsbury, Iris Polly and Evelyn Polly. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.

**The memorial service scheduled for Saturday, March 21st has been postponed and will be announced at a later date. **

Memorial donations may be made to:

Chester Children's Chorus
Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081

Rigby Harting &
Hagan Funeral Home
15 E. Fourth St.
Media, PA 19063
( p ) 610-566-3755
( f  ) 610-627-0155

www.haganfuneralhome.com