William J. Hendra

February 23, 1938 – March 19, 2026

William J. Hendra, 88, of Ringwood, New Jersey, passed away peacefully on March 19, 2026. Born in Englewood and raised in Fairview, New Jersey, Bill was the son of William Hendra and Emma Hartmann, and the beloved brother of the late Blanche Hendra.

Bill came from a long line of builders. He could build a house, rebuild a car engine, construct a canoe from scratch, and fix just about anything that needed fixing. He was a man who walked to the beat of his own drummer from the very beginning. As a boy in Fairview he kept a pet bat, roamed widely, and approached the world with the curiosity and independence that would define him his entire life. He grew up to become a young man of genuine adventure, skiing and biking extensively across North Jersey, covering roads and trails on his own terms and with quiet determination. He later settled in Cresskill before making his home in Ringwood.

He served in the United States Army during peacetime from 1958 to 1960. During basic training, his bunkmate happened to be a young Elvis Presley. At the end of training, Elvis sought Bill out to thank him personally for treating him like an ordinary person. That was simply who Bill was. It never would have occurred to him to do otherwise.

A field engineer by trade, Bill built a career spanning more than three decades with the Burroughs Corporation, which became Unisys, based in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He brought to his work the same steady competence and reliability that defined everything he did.

At home, Bill was always fixing something, building something, or tending to his famously immaculate lawn. He was a devoted do-it-yourselfer who took pride in his work and kept the place looking right. He also had a lifelong love of music, and more than a few people heard him crooning in the kitchen.

A wanderer at heart, Bill was an avid fly fisherman, a passionate traveler who visited nearly all 50 states, and a man with a particular and deep affection for Montana, where he returned most summers. He was happiest with a line in the water or the open road ahead of him.

To know Bill Hendra was to be steadied by him. His son Bill described him simply as being like gravity, a force so constant and fundamental that his absence leaves the world noticeably different. His son Rick remembered a man of bottomless patience who answered every question, never judged, and always believed in the people he loved. He taught his children not to judge others but to focus on improving themselves, reminding them that you never truly know what another person is carrying. He never pushed, but he never stopped supporting. In a world that can wear people down into cynicism, Bill never took that path.

He lived his values plainly and without fanfare, through generosity, humility, and an abiding care for everyone around him. He was, as his son Rick put it, the most Christian man he knew, not through formal observance but simply through the way he treated people every single day.

Bill was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy Falleti Hendra, and his sister, Blanche Hendra. He is survived by his loving wife, Rosemary Oltmer Hendra; his sons, William Hendra of Summit, New Jersey, and Rick Hendra of Hawthorne, New Jersey; five grandchildren, Emma, Richard, Grace, Charlotte, and Andrew; and a wide circle of family and friends whose lives he shaped in ways large and small.

A private graveside service will be held in late May. Details will be shared with family and friends in the coming weeks.