Grady "Bill" Hendrix

Sorrells Funeral Home & Crematory of Enterprise

Viewed: 1925

Posted by: Sorrells Funeral Home
[email protected]
334-347-9598
Date: Sep 04 2015 2:37 PM

Grady Hendrix, also known as “Bill” to close friends and “Billy” to family, 87, passed away September 3, 2015 holding the hand of his wife of 60 years, Eva, and surrounded by his loving family.

Funeral services will be at 2 PM, Sunday, September 6, 2015 at Sorrells Funeral Home, 4550 Boll Weevil Circle, Enterprise with Dr. A. C. Sheffield officiating.  Interment will be immediately following at Meadowlawn Memorial Park with Sorrells Funeral Home & Crematory directing.  The family will receive friends at the funeral home Sunday beginning at 1 PM and continuing until service time.

Grady was born on a dirt farm between Samson and Geneva on September 18, 1927, the only son of 11 children.  His father made him quit school in 8^th grade to work on their sharecropper farm. In a major act of defiance, the underage Grady left home and joined the army catching the very end of WW II. Upon returning to the States he graduated from Geneva High School then joined the Army Security Agency.  In 1955 he married the love of his life, Eva Frances Miller, who joined him in the nomadic military life. During his military career he usually worked at least one extra job plus a part time job to provide for his growing family and to also send money home to his parents on the farm. Grady retired from the military in 1967 and enjoyed a couple of successful sales jobs until he joined the Alabama Employment Agency in Enterprise.  At that time he finished his BA in Psychology from Troy State University, the first in his generation to graduate from college. Grady retired again then bought his dream ranch and created one of the prettiest ranches ever just outside of Geneva where he could often be found on his tractor, or at the parts store. Grady was an avid deer and bird hunter. From hunting on the moors of England to the corn and peanut fields of Southern Alabama, Grady usually had a dog at his side and a gun close at hand. He also loved to take his grandsons fishing on the lakes on his ranch. Grady retired yet again and he and Eva moved back to Enterprise in 1999 where he remained until his recent illness and hospitalization.

Grady was known for his detailed stories and his great sense of humor. You knew he liked you if he cocked his head, arched an eyebrow and gave you a big grin as he teased about whatever he thought might get a reaction, followed by his mischievous laughter. These last years he loved nothing more than holding court from the big recliner in the living room, visiting with family and friends as much as possible.

Grady is survived by his wife, Eva, and their three children; Claudia Carroll and her husband Rick, Grady W. Hendrix, Jr, and Carol Fox and her husband Kieran, plus his nephew, Harry Wayne Royals who was like another son and a best friend rolled into one, and his wife Becky; his grandsons; Aaron Carroll, Ian Hendrix, Liam Fox and Ronan Fox. He is also survived by sisters Betty Knowles and her husband Neal and Judy Johnson and her husband Allen, as well as many wonderful nieces and nephews.

Sorrells Funeral Home and Crematory of Enterprise, (334) 347-9598, is in charge of arrangements. To sign a guest register, please visit www.sorrellsfuneralhomes.com. 

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