Janet Eileen Beman Hendrickson, a former head of the East End chapter of the National Organization for Women, died of a heart attack at her Bridgehampton residence on Aug. 6. She preferred to keep her age to herself.
Born in Blauvelt, N.Y., to Richard Beman and the former Eileen Murray, she was one of eight children. She excelled academically as a young woman, and studied nursing at the University of Buffalo.
After college, she became a volunteer for AmeriCorps Vista, the national anti-poverty organization. Throughout her life, her family said, she worked tirelessly for civil rights and equality for all.
She married Richard H. Hendrickson in 1971, and the couple moved to Lumber Lane in Bridgehampton, where they raised three daughters. Her husband — who was a United States weather observer here alongside his father, Richard G. Hendrickson — died in 2016.
When their children were small, Mrs. Hendrickson worked at the Bridgehampton Child Care Center. She later spent 20 years as the bookkeeper for Dan’s Papers.
After retiring, she became a fund-raiser for the Bridgehampton Association, a nonprofit that supports local charities and cultural and educational groups.
She loved gardening and photographing the flowers she grew, said her family, as well as dancing, jewelry-making, painting figurines, and other crafts.
She is survived by her three daughters, Rachel Green of Bridgehampton, Leah Hendrickson of Jamesport, and Sara Pride of Brooksville, Fla., and by many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Four sisters, Barbara Moore, Tia Bentley, Cathy Bennett, and Nancy Raniolo, also survive. Her brothers, Richard Beman and Michael Beman, died before her.
A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton, with a reception at the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church to follow. Notes of condolence may be sent care of Hendrickson, P.O. Box 410, Bridgehampton 11932.