MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Dawkins

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE OF JIM GILBERT HENDRICK AND EXPRESSING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY UPON HIS PASSING.

WHEREAS, Jim Gilbert Hendrick, 81, a longtime Jackson pediatrician and environmental activist, departed this life on January 21, 2001; and

WHEREAS, a native of Lena, Mississippi, Dr. Hendrick grew up on a small family farm with his five brothers and sisters, his mother, Winifred Gilbert, and his father, Marion Hendrick, a history teacher; and

WHEREAS, at the age of 15, Dr. Hendrick entered college, graduating from the University of Mississippi in 1939, and from the University of Tennessee Medical School in 1942, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical scholastic honorary society; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick married Mary Rebecca Ferrell of Oxford, Mississippi, in 1942, and served as a captain in the U.S. Army during the World War II Italian Campaign (1943-45), receiving the Bronze Star for tending wounded soldiers under fire; and

WHEREAS, in 1948, after Dr. Hendrick's pediatric residency at St. Joseph's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, the Hendricks moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where Dr. Hendrick entered the private practice of pediatrics with Children's Medical Group until his retirement in 1990; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick was active in professional and civic organizations, including the American Board of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association and Mississippi State Medical Association, and served as President of Central Medical Society and as a member of the Environmental Protection Committee of the State Medical Association; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick accepted numerous assignments from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), including service on the National Public Information Committee; chair of Mississippi Head Start during the academy's participation; and Mississippi Public Relations chair (1984-86); and

WHEREAS, as chair of the AAP fund drive in Mississippi, Dr. Hendrick personally visited every pediatrician in the state to encourage their support of AAP, paving the way for Mississippi to earn the highest rate of participation by pediatricians in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick actively participated in the AAP's national environmental committee, continuing his involvement after his retirement to ensure a future of environmental safety for all of us, especially for the children of the world; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick served as president of the staff of the Baptist Medial Center in 1959, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi and consulting staff member at St. Dominic Hospital; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick was a community leader working for racial reconciliation, serving as president of the Jackson Urban League (1970), and as a member of Mississippi 2020 Network, Sierra Club and Citizens for Resource Recycling; and

WHEREAS, in 1964, he chaired an eight-county drive that immunized children with the new polio vaccine and led the fight to fluoridate Jackson's water supply in 1969; and

WHEREAS, in recent years Dr. Hendrick became an authority on dioxins, and their dangers to the environment and to health, especially children's health; and

WHEREAS, ordained as a deacon at Calvary Baptist Church, where he served as chair of the Finance Committee, Dr. Hendrick became a charter member of Northminister Baptist Church in 1966, where he also served as a deacon; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Hendrick will be sorely missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, brother and sister, and a host of other relatives and friends:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life of Jim Gilbert Hendrick and express our deepest sympathy to his family upon his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of Jim Gilbert Hendrick and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.