Jan A. Hendrickson

Jan Adaire Hendrickson

Jan Adaire Hendrickson went to be with God after living with chronic illness on Friday, March 28, 2025. Jan was born in Chicago, IL to Gerald John and Adaire Ann (Spittal) Hendrickson on January 4, 1969. Jan was a happy, healthy baby, adored by her parents and three sisters. At the age of one, a medical error changed the course of her life forever. From this traumatic incident, Jan was left severely physically and mentally disabled with a life expectancy of less than 30 years.

Jan was baptized with her three sisters at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Lenox around the age of 5. She attended Trinity Lutheran and Christ’s Mission Lutheran Church with her family for many years. From a young age, Jan attended the Lincoln-Way Area Special Education program. This afforded Jan the opportunity to participate in educational, music, art and therapeutic programs with students that had similar disabilities.

With the loving and dedicated care of her parents and family, Jan lived at home with her family until her teens. As she became older, she required full-time care and assistance that could no longer be provided at home. After researching and then touring countless long-term care programs and facilities, they made the decision to move Jan, aged 14, to Bethesda Lutheran Communities in Watertown, Wisconsin. Bethesda provides quality Christian care for more than 700 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Jan was an out-of-state resident, so she was provided with a state guardian, Sarah Soderlin. Sarah served as a loving advocate for Jan for over 25 years, including when Jan was moved to a smaller group home and through many medical interventions.

Jan is survived by her sisters, Ann (Tony) King, Nancy Brazzale and Jill (Christopher) Turner; her nephews Nicholas, Matthew, and Andrew King, Jonathan Brazzale, and Colin, Ryan, and Owen Turner; her Uncle and Aunt, Bruce and Cherie Spittal; and many cousins, close family friends, housemates, and caregivers. Jan is preceded in death by her parents, Adaire and Gerald Hendrickson; her grandparents, William and Anabel Spittal and Barney and Mary Hendrickson; her Uncle and Aunt, Donald (Smitty) and Susie Smith; and her Uncle and Aunt, Richard and Louise Hendrickson (Brost). Visitation for Jan will be held at Kurtz Memorial Chapel, 102 East Francis Road, New Lenox, IL, 60451 on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 1:00pm, with her funeral service immediately following at 2:00pm. Interment will be private.

Jan’s life taught us compassion, love and respect for human life. Jan will be forever loved and missed.