Mark Hendricks
Date of Birth: June 10, 1953
Date of Death: January 3, 2017

Longtime Texas State University spokesman and journalist Mark Steven Hendricks died Jan. 3 in San Marcos from complications related to diabetes. He was 63.

Hendricks’ colorful academic career eventually brought him full circle to serve as spokesman for the university that awarded him a journalism degree in 1981.

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Esteemed journalist Mark Hendricks leaves legacy of gifted reporting, writing in Central Texas and beyond
 
     Award-winning journalist and long-time Texas State University spokesperson Mark Steven Hendricks, whose worldly understanding produced a rare clarity of writing, died on Tuesday, January 3, 2017, in San Marcos at the age of 63.
     Mark was born on June 10, 1953, in Spokane, Washington. He was preceded in death by his father, Col. Clayton V. Hendricks. Mark grew up on and around various military bases, including the  Marine Corps Air Station at  Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.Mark attended high school in Virginia, graduating from Annandale High School in Annandale, VA. in 1971.
     After a “colorful” academic career in which he received letters from five universities advising him that his “services as a student were no longer needed,” he made his way to San Marcos and graduated from Texas State University in 1981 with a degree in journalism. Mark liked to boast that he managed to parlay those academic experiences into a quarter-century long career in higher education.
     Besides being a gifted writer and a great story-teller, Mark had a sly but self-deprecating sense of humor, and his many friends and family will miss those epic evenings of conversation and laughter.
     Mark’s first job in journalism was as a reporter and then news editor at the Laredo News, owned by the Tony Sanchez family. He soon returned to San Marcos, where he worked as a city and news reporter for the San Marcos Daily Record for nearly a decade before starting a 25-year career as the spokesperson for Texas State University and the Director of Media Relations and Publications, until his retirement in 2014. His Bobcat pride ran deep.
     Mark married Rebecca Averyt in 1983, and they had two children, Patrick Clayton and DeLynn Victoria. Mark was very involved in their lives, from Little League and band contests to college and beyond. Among his proudest moments were walking DeLynn down the aisle at her wedding and witnessing Patrick walk the stage to receive his undergraduate degree at University of Texas.
     On April 17, 2004, Mark married the great love of his life, Diana Becker Finlay and they made their two families one. His parental pride grew to include Halley Anna, Sterling and Jenni as well. Mark and Diana created many memories in their San Marcos home, but also enjoyed traveling, visiting Kauai multiple times, exploring the Mississippi Blues Trail, and enjoying the good life on the Florida and Texas gulf coasts, the Delbert McClinton Cruise, along with countless concerts and live musical events.   
     Mark was also especially close to Barkley, the Husky/German Shepherd dog he and Diana adopted from PAWS in 2014. He wrote essays about Barkley and some of their experiences, and often argued that it was truly Barkley who rescued him.
     While Diana wishes she could have had forty more years with him, they truly lived happily ever after, enjoying every single day of their life together. This year, as Diana finished writing the Delbert McClinton biography, One of the Fortunate Few, Mark agreed that he, too, was among the fortunate few in this wonderful world.
     Survivors include the great love of his life, his wife, Diana Finlay Hendricks; his  mother, Mary Kading Hendricks; children, De Lynn Hendricks Mitchell and Paul Mitchell and grandchildren Nora and Caitlin Mitchell of Katy, Texas; Patrick Hendricks of San Marcos, Texas; Jenni Finlay and Clay McNeill of Austin, Texas; Sterling Finlay and granddaughter Annie Finlay of Martindale, Texas; Halley Anna Finlay and Dustin Welch of Martindale and Wimberley; former wife, Rebecca Averyt of Canyon Lake; sister Vicki Bruner and her children, Jordan and Barry Bruner Jr.; mother-in-law Nancy Becker Cathcart; brothers-in-law, Guy Becker and his wife, Deanna, and daughter Shelby, Ron Becker and his wife, Karen, and their sons, Cody and Brandon Becker; Kim and Winton Porterfield; faithful companion, Barkley; and numerous other friends and relatives.
     A celebration of Mark’s life will be held Sunday, January 22, 2017, at the Texas State University End Zone Complex at Bobcat Football Stadium in San Marcos from 3 to 5 p.m. Donations may be made in Mark’s name to the PAWS Shelter in Kyle, the Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University, or Soldier Songs and Voices (PO Box 2877, Wimberley, Texas 78676).