Columbia College sadly marks the passing of Clelia Derrick Hendrix, class of 1941. Mrs. Hendrix, age 88, died Friday, November 21, 2008. She resided with her husband, Henry Gardner Hendrix, in Greenville, South Carolina.
 
Born January 19, 1920, in McClellanville, S.C., she was the daughter of Rev. Theodore Elbridge Derrick and Susan Bauknight Derrick. She spent her early years in several low country towns, moving with her family as required by the Methodist ministers' itinerant system. She married Henry Gardner Hendrix, and together they have been a powerful force for community activism and service. The family has a deep connection to Columbia College, with Clelia being one of four sisters who graduated between 1935 and 1951. In addition, both of the Hendrix’s daughters, Susan H. Redmond and Marilyn H. Shedlock, are Columbia College graduates.
 
A 1941 graduate of Columbia College, Mrs. Hendrix was on the Board of Trustees for 12 years and was the first woman to serve as chair of that board. She has remained deeply involved in the Columbia College Alumnae Association receiving the Distinguished Service Award. She was one of the first recipients of the Columbia College Medallion for meritorious service to church, college and community. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix established an endowed scholarship at the college in 1986.
 
Mrs. Hendrix completed a Master's Degree at Furman University and post graduate work at Glassboro State College, Temple University, Furman University and the University of Washington. She was awarded an honorary PhD at Columbia College in 1988.
 
Mrs. Hendrix taught in the public schools of Greenville County at the elementary and high school levels, served as a guidance counselor and a supervisor of English and reading, directed Summer Reading clinics and taught in the Community College of Furman University. During the last 15 years of her career, she served as director of public relations for the School District of Greenville County. Mrs. Hendrix was president of the Greenville County Education Association, and the S.C. chapters of the Department of Reading Teachers and National School Public Relations Association. She was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa professional teachers’ sorority.
 
Mrs. Hendrix volunteered with several civic organizations including the Community Planning Council, the United Way Advisory Council, Junior Achievement and the S.C. Leadership Academy. She was appointed by the Governor to the South Carolina Commission on Women where she served for nine years, and was chair for five years.
 
Throughout her life, Mrs. Hendrix was an active member of Buncombe Street United Methodist Church. She served in numerous capacities including chair of the Staff Parish Relations committee and membership on the Board of Trustees, Endowment Committee, Administrative Board, and Finance Committee. She was past President of the United Methodist Women and a lifelong teacher in the church school. She worked diligently in the church archives.
 
Elected as a delegate to the United Methodist General Conference (five times), to the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference (four times), and the South Carolina Annual Conference, she influenced the direction and future of the global United Methodist Church. She served eight years on the Board of Global Ministries serving as Finance Committee chair. In 1986, the General Board of Global Ministries sent Mrs. Hendrix and her husband to Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa to research mission projects. Additionally she served on the Editorial Review Board for the United Methodist Discipline.
 
To contribute to the Clelia Derrick Hendrix Endowed Scholarship Fund at Columbia College, contact Lisa Livingston, executive director of alumnae relations, llivingston@columbiasc.edu , 803.786.3029, 1301 Columbia College Drive, Columbia, SC 29203.