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2014 SPECIAL SESSION I

14200143D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5021
Offered April 16, 2014
Celebrating the life of Billy Frank Hendley.
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Patron-- Ruff
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WHEREAS, Billy Frank Hendley, a dedicated veteran, respected entrepreneur, and former member of the Fort Lee community, died on April 20, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley, born May 31, 1938, in Hillsdale, Macon County, Tennessee, was the eldest son and second child of 10 children of Wilbur J. Hendley, Sr., of Clay County, Tennessee, and Ida May Taylor of Macon County, Tennessee; he was the great-great-grandson of Adin S. Hendley and Elizabeth J. Gentry of Jackson County (now Putnam), Tennessee; Elizabeth J. Gentry-Hendley was third cousin to United States, later Confederate States, Congressman Meredith P. Gentry, candidate for Governor of Tennessee in 1855 who was defeated by only 2,157 votes by incumbent Governor Andrew Johnson; and; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley moved with his family to Nineveh Township in south central Johnson County, Indiana, in July 1942, where he attended a number of schools during his childhood, including high school; he joined the Indiana Army National Guard on April 29, 1956, and served three consecutive enlistments from 1956–1966, including as an ordnance parts specialist and ordnance supply specialist with Headquarters and Company A of the 738th Ordnance Battalion, and as a light truck driver with Headquarters and Company B of the 38th Aviation Battalion; he thrice earned the Sharpshooter (Rifle) Badge and received an honorable discharge after 10 years of service on June 16, 1966, with the rank of sergeant (SP5 E-5); and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley’s family heritage is in the spirit of the Civil War Sesquicentennial currently being observed; his three great-great-uncles—John (Teamster), William, and Nimrod—served in the 8th Tennessee Cavalry, Company K (also known as the 13th Tennessee Cavalry), lastly commanded by Colonel Mounce L. Gore, great-great-grandfather of former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.; Gore’s command was assigned escort duty to the convoy of President Jefferson Davis at Charlotte, North Carolina, shortly after General Joseph Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee, C.S.A.; Gore’s command stayed with the convoy all the way to Washington, Georgia, where they surrendered to the 4th Iowa Cavalry, U.S.A., on May 3, 1865; and

WHEREAS, in 1962, Billy Hendley enrolled in the United States Army Quartermasters School at Fort Lee, Virginia, under the direction of Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh and Brigadier General John S. Anderson (The Adjutant General), who placed Billy Hendley on active duty so he could attend this prestigious military school; during his tenure, he obtained a superior rating and was named “Honor Graduate” from the Canvas and Webbed Equipment Repair Course, which was commemorated with a presentation photo appearing at the top center of the front page of the Franklin Evening Star in Franklin, Indiana, on Monday, April 2, 1962; and

WHEREAS, from 1956 to 1965, Billy Hendley spent nine years working for the Military Department of Indiana (USPFO) as a trades helper, mechanic (junior), painter, canvas and leather repairman, and automotive repairman; at the end of his tenure with the USPFO, he had advanced to Level 11 (NGW 11-3); and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley married the former Marilyn Jo Snyder on November 20, 1959, and of this union five children were born; surviving along with his former wife are his children, Bryan D. Hendley, Terri L. Webb, Steven W. Hendley, Timothy H. Hendley, and Carole M. Hendley-Ellis; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley was an entrepreneur who began a journey of self-employment in 1965, first owning and managing a Phillips 66 service station and Bill’s Upholstery Shop in Franklin, Indiana; he eventually closed the service station and later moved the upholstery shop to his home; he relocated the shop to an old, abandoned grocery store in the heart of the town of Providence, Indiana, but by 1984, the shop had outgrown this site, and he leased a very large old two-story building in downtown Bargersville, Indiana; after building a thriving upholstery business into a full-time occupation, he retired from truck driving for Roadway Express, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, his “second job” for 18 years from 1966 to 1984; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley held the first Hendley Family Reunion at his Banta, Johnson County, Indiana, home on Memorial Day 1972 and the first National Reunion of both branches (clans) of the Hendley family at his farm near Providence, Indiana, on Memorial Day 1975; this event established the Hendley Family Association of Tennessee, which was inaugurated on January 1, 1976; its motto reads, “It is appropriate today that we pause to remember who we are, where we came from and what we have been taught,” a quote by the late Tennessee Governor Ned R. McWherter – January 17, 1987; Billy Hendley inspired four of his children to serve in the governance of the Hendley Family Association; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley was instrumental in the establishment of the Hendley Family Association, serving on the organization’s first board of directors from 1976 to 1977 and hosting the first reunion of the Francis Marion Hendley clan (branch) on Memorial Day 1976, in honor of the United States Bicentennial; he was a signatory of the association’s incorporation charter, filed December 29, 1976, at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee, and served as the second national president, first native Tennessean of the Hendley Family Association, Inc., from 1978 to 1979; again elected to the national board of directors of the Hendley Family Association, Inc., he served from September 23, 2007, until his passing; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley was active in his community and participated in numerous civic organizations, including the Tennessee Monument Commission, Inc., of Nashville, Tennessee, which dedicated Tennessee’s State Memorial at the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park on July 3, 1982, and the White River Valley Regions Antique Car Club of America; after retiring in 2000, he continued collecting and fixing up classic cars for the antique car club and drove them in town and city parades; he started a trend that his children helped carry on for the next 12 years of “flipping houses,” or remodeling and reselling them; he would partner with his two sons and two daughters at different times and for different projects; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley was the recipient of many awards and honors for his public service and community involvement, including the Governor’s Outstanding Tennessean Award from Governor Ned R. McWherter in 1990; the Cold War Certificate of Recognition (DD FORM 2774. 1 JUL 2001) from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, which reads, “In Recognition of your service during the period of the Cold War (2 September 1945 – 26 December 1991) in promoting peace and stability for this Nation, the people of this Nation are forever grateful.”; and the Honorary Lieutenant Governor citation in 2003 from Indiana Lieutenant Governor, later Governor, Joseph E. Kernan; he was posthumously awarded the National Defense Service Medal (first award) on April 29, 2013, by the Indiana Joint Forces Headquarters, Indiana National Guard; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley’s funeral service was begun by funeral director Austin McGuire of Flinn & McGuire Funeral Home of Franklin, Indiana, and he was eulogized by his daughter-in-law, now the former Mrs. Timothy (Beth) Hendley at his funeral on April 23, 2013; the Reverend Max Downs of the Franklin Church of the Nazarene led the funeral sermon, “Seeking First His Kingdom & His Righteousness”; Billy Hendley was laid to rest the next day, April 24, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. at East Hill Cemetery, Morgantown, Morgan County, Indiana, and he was carried from the hearse to the grave site by pallbearers: Mr. William H. Hendley, past 11th District Adjutant, American Legion Department of Indiana; Mr. Justin Webb; Mr. Brandon Moorefield; Mr. Logan Hendley; Mr. Randy “Hick” Rodgers; and Mr. Shawn Gilley; Reverend Max Downs presided, and Mr. Hendley’s youngest daughter, Carole M. Hendley-Ellis, read a personal letter to her father, ending the service; and

WHEREAS, Billy Hendley’s family received condolence letters from Tennessee Governor and Mrs. (Crissy) Bill Haslam, Indiana Governor Michael R. Pence, Virginia Governor and Mrs. (Maureen) Robert F. McDonnell, and Brigadier General John E. O’Neil IV, Commandant (The Quartermaster General), United States Army Quartermaster School, Fort Lee, Virginia, all of which are indicative of the esteem of which Billy Hendley was held; in 2014, he was memorialized by the 108th Tennessee General Assembly and the 118th Indiana General Assembly; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Billy Frank Hendley, an outstanding military veteran, a successful entrepreneur, and a former member of the Fort Lee community; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the family of Billy Frank Hendley and to the Hendley Family Association, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.