Founded by Mr. and Mrs. John D. Hendrickson II in memory of Mr. Hendrickson’s mother for children’s programs.

Born in 1894 in New York City, Mary Landon Carter Mason Hendrickson’s parents’ families were among Virginia’s early settlers but with her maternal grandfather from Switzerland. From infancy until her late teenage years, she lived with her widowed mother in family homes in New York, Hagerstown and Geneva, Switzerland, speaking both English and French. In 1919, she married Carroll H. Hendrickson in St. John’s Church in Hagerstown, where the couple lived for a time and welcomed their first son. The family then moved to Frederick in 1921, where Mrs. Hendrickson’s husband became a partner in the family retail store. Her other two sons were born in Frederick, and she quickly entered into the many facets of Frederick life, serving on the Altar Guild of All Saints’ Episcopal Church and volunteering as a board member of Federated Charities, Episcopal Orphan House and the Home for the Aged (Record Street Home). She was a charter member of The Garden Club of Frederick and a member of several smaller cultural and social organizations. Of a naturally cheery disposition, she was known as a gracious hostess and genuinely friendly to all with whom she made contact. She died in 1981 in the Frederick home of her last 57 years. Her primary love was always the welfare and progress of her three sons and grandchildren. To honor his mother’s memory, John D. Hendrickson II and his wife, Elizabeth, established The Mary Mason Hendrickson Memorial Endowment Fund. In keeping with Mrs. Hendrickson’s love for children, this Fund supports children’s programs.