April 5, 1939 — Jan. 14, 2016

Carol Idelene Hendrix, 76, of Cassopolis, formerly of Glencoe, Illinois, passed peacefully, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, in Borgess Lee Medical Center in Dowagiac.

She was born April 5, 1939, in Evanston, Illinois to Herbert and Ruth (Johnson) Williams. She married Willie Donnell Hendrix in Evanston, Illinois. He preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Ruth Howlett; and one foster sister, Wilma Deese.

Carol was passionate about civil rights, women’s rights, and racial equality. She and her husband where among the first to integrate their neighborhood in Glencoe on the North Shore, with the insistence that her children would have the best education opportunities. Carol served on several boards, including the League of Women Voters, Leadership Council. She was on the panel of the League of American Women. Carol organized the first march on Glencoe, Illinois commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. She obtained her real estate license in the early 1990’s and remained active until her struggles with the onset of Dementia forced her to retire. She was part of the Black Caucus, an organization created to help ensure the security and acceptance for black children attending the Northshore school system, specifically New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

Carol will be greatly missed by family and friends. Beloved wife of the late Willie D. Hendrix, she is survived by two daughters, Beth (Randall) James of Cassopolis, April (Thomas) Perrella of Highland Park, Illinois; one son, Jason Hendrix of Chicago; five grandchildren, Levonica (Allan) Smith of Coconut Creek, Florida, Michelle James and Brandon James, both of Cassopolis, Jake Perrella and Symone Perrella, both of Highland Park, Illinois; one sister, Lynn (Walter E.) Wideman Smith of Florida; one brother, Ervin Lawrence of Chicago; two step-sisters; her goddaughter, Myla Divinia Barefield Young of Oak Park, Illinois; and a host of nieces and nephews, many of whom she was instrumental in raising.

Family and friends will gather for a Memorial Service in Illinois at a date and time later in January to be determined. The family appreciates your well wishes and support.

Mrs. Hendrix remains will be laid to rest in beside her beloved husband, Willie D. Hendrix, in Memorial Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois

The family prefers contributions be made in Carol’s memory to Alzheimer’s Association, Michigan Great Lakes Chapter, 350 East Michigan Avenue, Suite 20, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, Cassopolis.

Please share a memory or a message online: wagnercares.com.