Heidi Christina (Lubke) Hendrickson, 63, of Manhattan passed away on November 4, 2019, at the Good Shepherd Hospice House. Heidi was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on February 11, 1956, and grew up in Milwaukee. She was baptized and confirmed by her Uncle, the Reverend Harold Gruhn, her mother’s brother, pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, who succeeded his father in that position.
Heidi attended several colleges while moving around as a military spouse. She graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from The College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois and later with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio in 1988. Heidi worked at hospitals in Illinois, Texas, Kentucky, and Frankfort Germany, and moved to Manhattan in 1994 where she worked at the local hospital until 2017.
Heidi was an active member at her church where she volunteered in many roles from children’s ministry to choir to parish nursing. She was also a talented crafter and self-taught painter. An egg she intricately painted to represent Kansas was chosen to be in the White House’s Easter Collection which displayed one egg from each state.
Heidi was preceded in death by her parents, Eric Carl Lubke and Dorothy Anne (Gruhn) Kasel, and one brother, Karl Lubke. Heidi is survived by her brother, Joseph Kasel III of West Allis, WI; two daughters, Gretchen (Ian) Hartsook of Manhattan and Hannah Hendrickson of Westminster, CO; a grandson, August Hartsook; and her beloved, Bob Starnes of Manhattan.
A visitation will be on Saturday, November 16th at 9 am with a funeral service following at 10 am both at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. Inurnment will follow the service at Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan with a luncheon to follow at the church. Arrangements with Carlson’s Irvin-Parkview Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to The National Alliance on Mental Illness or The Lane Thomas Foundation which supports families of children needing life-saving transplants.