Portage County obituaries for Feb. 17-19

Edgar James “Jim” Hendrix passed away peacefully at home on February 14, surrounded by family. He was preceded in death by his parents and seven siblings. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Phyllis, his two children, Steve and Cindy, his younger brother Lee and sister Eunice Fass, five grandchildren and one soon-to-be great grandchild.

Jim was born in a rural Nebraska farming community in 1931. As a young boy, a family friend taught him all about ham radio and Jim eventually convinced his father to let him build his own workshop in the chicken coop. Later, his younger sister would introduce him to her best friend, who had just been crowned the Queen of the Richardson County Fair of 1953, and who would be his wife for nearly seven decades.