Eugene Lloyd Hendrickson of Cream Ridge, New Jersey, husband of 69 years to the late Jane Tymons Hendrickson, passed away peacefully in the early morning of May 14, 2020. He was a businessman, a Marine, an historian, an outdoorsman, artist, and collector. He was a member of the Lakewood High School class of 1944 and joined the Marines in that year to serve in the Pacific and China. On his return from war, he attended the New York School of Modern Photography. He was a portrait photographer who founded Gene's Photo Centre, Lakewood, New Jersey in 1948 followed by Gene's Photo and Sport Centre in 1959, operating the business for 37 years. He was Commander of Jackson VFW Post 4703 and Ocean County Commander in 1959. He served as President of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, as well as Chairman of the Redevelopment and Heritage Commissions. As local historian, he presented "Lakewood, the Golden Years," a slide show and history commentary in various venues to an audience of over 5,000. He was recognized by the town of Lakewood, in their Hall of Fame for his many contributions and in 2018 honored in a ceremony with a street named after him near the Lakewood Historical Museum where attendees also viewed his paintings within the museum. Upon his retirement from business, he moved to Cream Ridge where he built his wife their dream house and began a second career raising Christmas trees on their property "Hendrickson Hill." He was a storyteller, an artist, a sportsman, an entrepreneur, a community leader, a man of principle - one of the last of the greatest generation. Fiercely independent until the very end, he was his own man, self-made and steadfast in his beliefs. A man of many contradictions - tough on the outside, sensitive on the inside, a man who seemed to many of simple tastes, but loved listening to opera by Pavarotti, painting landscapes and seascapes, a wood carver of decoys, a gardener, a taxidermist. He loved playing the harmonica. He could build a house. There seemed to be little he could not do. He had many friends who delighted in listening to his stories about the old days: stories of World War Two, his memories of childhood on the farm, stories of hunting and deep-sea fishing. He loved genealogy and spent endless hours researching family history. He was a generous man who helped others selflessly and got many back on their feet.

Born in Cassville, New Jersey in 1926, he was married for 69 years to the love of his life, Jane Tymons of New York until her passing in 2016. He was devoted to her as a life partner and business partner and to his family - daughter Patricia of Buckingham, Pennsylvania and son Gene of Forked River, New Jersey. He is survived by them, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Because of the current quarantine, burial will be private. A memorial will be planned for a later date. This obituary will also be posted on the Peppler Funeral Home, Allentown, New Jersey website where messages can be left.