Richard Hendrickson, 103, Remembered For Love Of Weather, Guns, Farming, Life, And Bridgehampton

The afternoon of July 25, 2014, was overcast and slightly muggy—details that were especially important to Richard Hendrickson.He was clad in a long-sleeved button-down shirt, khakis and a striped necktie as he stood in the backyard of his Bridgehampton home and sifted through an instrument shelter for one of the many tools he used to take down weather observations.

It was a task he could do backward, with his eyes closed, and probably while asleep.

Mr. Hendrickson, who was known to all as the East End’s own weather expert, and much more, died this weekend at the age of 103 after spending more than 80 years serving as a volunteer for the National Weather Service’s Cooperative Observer Program.

Mr. Hendrickson had taken his observations twice a day, each day, since he was 18. “I love to take the weather,” the Lumber Lane resident, known to many as Dick, had said that summer day in 2014. “It’s always changing.”

He was also honored that summer with the Richard G. Hendrickson Award, which was created to honor volunteers who participate at least 80 years in the National Weather Service’s Cooperative Observer Program. Mr. Hendrickson took his last observations the following year, before retiring on his 103rd birthday. He began living at the Westhampton Care Center last summer due to declining health.

Born on September 2, 1912, to farmers Howard and Edith, he had spent his childhood and early adult life working on his family’s Hill View Farm, across Lumber Lane from where Mr. Hendrickson would later build his own home. He became interested in weather observation at a young age, having helped a New York City writer named Ernest S. Clowes with his reports when Mr. Clowes came out to Bridgehampton in the summers and left his weather station behind the Hendricksons’ farmhouse.

Thanks to the volunteer, there are detailed records of major storms that tore through Eastern Long Island, including the 1938 hurricane. Those at the National Weather Service said Mr. Hendrickson’s decades-long legacy as the longest-serving cooperative observer has left a lasting impression on meteorologists because of that.

“He knew how important it was to the climate researchers and the National Weather Service,” said Tim Morrin, who led the Upton-based program Mr. Hendrickson was part of. “Working with him for 20 years, it was always just amazing to me how dedicated he was, and how passionate he was. I think it brightened everyone’s day here at the office when he called.”

“Words can’t even describe his legacy,” added I. Ross Dickman, meteorologist-in-charge at the New York Weather Forecast Office, also in Upton. “He’d call in every day with a story in addition to the weather observations. He obviously had a very fulfilling life. His dedication and loyalty with the National Weather Service will always be in our hearts.”

Although following the weather proved to be Mr. Hendrickson’s biggest passion, he was known for so much more.

This week, after hearing news of his death, many took the opportunity to recall their fondest memories. Some remember him firing a cannon every New Year’s Eve at midnight, or they remember spotting his bright yellow pickup truck traveling around Bridgehampton.

“Dick was such a lovely man, always a gentleman—and, in so many ways, Jeffersonian with his many interests, abilities and pursuits,” said Nancy Graboski, a former Southampton Town councilwoman whose husband, Benny, rented land behind Mr. Hendrickson’s home on which he farmed potatoes.

Others remember Mr. Hendrickson as a teacher, a go-getter, and a great public speaker.

“It’s amazing how he had the ability to just captivate an audience all the time,” said Mr. Hendrickson’s granddaughter, Sara, who moved in with him just before he turned 100. “One thing he said was, ‘You’re always learning. You never stop learning.’ He just never stopped—and he never wanted to stop. He never saw a reason to not keep doing things.”

“He was out mowing, using his lawnmower, up until 2½ years ago. We couldn’t talk him out of it,” said Peter Wilson, the son of Mr. Hendrickson’s second wife, Lillian. “He was a very independent guy. He would go out, do what he’d want to do. Old habits die hard.”

Almost anyone who knew Mr. Hendrickson knew him their whole lives, often beginning when their parents took them to his farm for staples like eggs, milk, tobacco, cotton and vegetables—just some of the many items that were available.

“He was a true country gentleman, but by that I mean a gentle man who lived in what then was unspoiled countryside,” said John White, who first met Mr. Hendrickson in the early 1960s. Mr. White said that as a kid, he was always fascinated by Mr. Hendrickson’s collections of guns and arrowheads.

“Mr. Hendrickson, though very busy, took the time to say hello and ask how things were going,” Mr. White said. “You would go up there seeking his advice—on history, or guns and ammo, or on any one of the significant number of odd crops he would raise.”

Richard Sellentin’s first job ever was working on Mr. Hendrickson’s farm. He also went sailing for the first time with Mr. Hendrickson, often flew kites with him, and enjoyed the occasional Sunday dinner that consisted of just waffles.

“He was a really, really honest and decent man. He was like an uncle to me, really,” Mr. Sellentin said. “I just loved him dearly. He was great.”

Although written about in countless newspapers and publications, Mr. Hendrickson will live on in his two books, “Winds of the Fish’s Tail,” published in 1996, and “From the Bushy Plain of Bull’s Head,” published 10 years later. While the first one is mostly about his weather observations, both paint a humble picture of what farm life was like on the South Fork of Long Island, and serve as way to help people learn why it is important to preserve it.

“All across the U.S.A., each country hamlet has a history unique and beautiful,” Mr. Hendrickson wrote in the introduction of his second book. “Its loss becomes our loss in this land of increasing sameness.”

Sara Hendrickson said her grandfather truly helped her appreciate the little things in life.

“Later in life, to get to know him closely … just put life into perspective,” she said. “He was amazing. Any time he would wake up, and we would chat, he would still be making jokes. He still had that twinkle in his eye. Everyone enjoyed his company. He just wanted to do what’s right.”

Visitation will be held for Mr. Hendrickson on Friday, January 22, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Brockett Funeral Home on Hampton Road in Southampton Village. A funeral service will take place at 11 a.m. on January 23 at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, with burial to follow at Edgewood Cemetery, also in Bridgehampton.

Mr. Hendrickson is survived by three granddaughters, Sara Hendrickson of Bridgehampton; Leah Hendrickson of Jamesport; and Rachel Green of Jamesport; a daughter-in-law, Janet Hendrickson of Bridgehampton; a sister, Edith Williams of Raleigh, North Carolina; and several nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Mr. Hendrickson’s name to the Bridgehampton Museum, P.O. Box 977, Bridgehampton, New York 11932.