Austin College community members extend sympathy and condolences to the family of Rev. Dr. Charles C. Hendricks ’61. He was as a member of the College’s Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2014, serving on the Student Affairs and Church Relations committees, and remained a Senior Trustee until his death on Christmas Day 2023.
Charles faithfully made the trip from The Woodlands, Texas, to Sherman with his wife, Peggy Hendricks ’66, for meetings and campus events every year during his three terms on the Austin College Board of Trustees.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in religion from Austin College, then completed his master’s degrees at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at Austin Seminary. Charles was organizing pastor of The Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church and served as its pastor for 23 years. Upon retirement he was named pastor emeritus of WCPC and served as a parish associate at Northwoods Presbyterian Church in Houston.
A celebration of life service for Charles Hendricks will be held Monday, February 19, at 11:00 a.m. at Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church, 4881 W Panther Creek Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77381.
The Family Obituary
The Reverend Doctor Charles C. Hendricks, Pastor Emeritus of The Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church (WCPC), died on Christmas morning, 2023, age 84, after a long struggle with vascular dementia.
He was a funny, eloquent, humble, authentic teacher and peacemaker; far ahead of his time as an influencer and much too cool to know or care what that word means. He did not tweet, text, or post, but he did march for civil rights, welcome people of all races, orientations, and genders into the Church and leadership roles, and always worked to build understanding between Christians, Muslims, and Jews regardless, or maybe in spite of, mainstream sentiments at the time.
Charles was born in Austin, TX, on April 3, 1939, to Dr. Leo and Delia (Collins) Hendricks. The family moved to Fort Worth when Leo became a geology professor at TCU. After graduating from Paschal High School in 1957, Charles earned degrees from Austin College (’61), Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary (’65, ’98), and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (’70). While attending APTS, Charles spent an intern year in Dunblane, the smallest town in Scotland with a cathedral, where he learned to ride a Vespa, wear a clerical collar, and that a lassie is a person, not a dog nor a TV show. In 1964, he attended Homecoming at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, and couldn’t start his car afterwards for the drive back to seminary in Austin. He hitched a ride with three young women leaving that same event and going his way. He struck up a conversation with one of them: Peggy Points. Fifty-five years later at his 80th birthday party when asked his favorite gift, he said “Peggy’s love, and a dead battery in 1964.”
He was ordained in 1968 and served as a pastor in Coleman, Texas, Fort Smith, Arkansas, and Austin, Texas, before becoming the organizing pastor of WCPC in 1980. Over the next 23 years, he and the congregation built WCPC from a tiny mustard seed of just a few families to a dynamic force in the community. Along the way, he and the congregation created and served in many innovative ministries: beginning Faiths Together celebrations, establishing a free health clinic, partnering with congregations in Zambia and Mexico, creating an AIDS Care Team, accompanying youth groups and youth choirs on trips, providing leadership at Mo-Ranch conferences, feeding and housing the homeless, establishing an Early Learning Program that offers student scholarships, and inspiring fourteen members of WCPC to attend seminary and become clergy themselves.
Charles retired with great fanfare from WCPC in 2003. He then served as Parish Associate at Northwoods Presbyterian Church in Houston for seven years. He remarked upon retiring how fortunate he was to make a career doing the only thing he’d ever wanted to do. He loved music, especially classical, and played the clarinet from first chair in his high school orchestra to a chair to sit upon in the Woodlands Concert Band. Charles was a graceful athlete and played many rounds of golf and tennis matches with his parishioners.
Above all, he loved his family, coaching his kids’ teams in the ’80s and encouraging his grandkids from the sidelines in later years. He never missed a family gathering, maybe because of the pecan pie. Charles is survived by his wife, Peggy Points Hendricks, The Woodlands, TX; his sister, Delia Hendricks Elliott ’66, Abilene, Texas; and three sons: Colin Hendricks, wife Dr. Mimi Hu, daughters Alexa and Bella Hendricks family, in Houston, TX; son Kyle Hendricks, wife Ruth and daughters Amara and Milena Hendricks in Dillon, CO; and son Cary Hendricks ’98, wife Jenny and children Seth, Stella, and Sloane Hendricks in Kerrville, TX; sister, Delia Hendricks Elliott and children, Harry W. and Erin Elliott. A Celebration of Life service for Charles will be held at 11:00am CT on Monday, Feb 19, 2024, in the Sanctuary of The Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church, 4881 W. Panther Creek Dr, The Woodlands, TX, 77381. A reception in the Fellowship Hall will follow.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Charles’ name to WCPC (wcpc-tx.org), Austin College (austincollege.edu), Interfaith of The Woodlands (woodlandsinterfaith.org), or Mo-Ranch (moranch.org).
“Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3