Mary Ann Hendryson

Mary Ann Hendryson was born on April 29, 1954 in Denver, Colorado as the youngest of the 5 children of Dr. Irvin (Chief) and Mary Hendryson. She grew up skiing and enjoying the outdoors in the Rocky Mountains, especially in Georgetown, Colorado. She moved to Palo Alto, California, for high school and returned to Colorado to earn her B.A. and M.A. in economics at the University of Denver. As an undergraduate, she played on the intercollegiate basketball and softball teams and was a rabid fan of the DU hockey team. While furthering her graduate studies at Washington State University (Go Cougs!) she was also a visiting scholar at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and later at the University of Calgary in Alberta during the 1988 Winter Olympics.

In 1989 her interest in all things Canadian led her to accept a faculty position in Economics and Canadian Studies at Western Washington University. Her other academic interests included Economic history, Border Studies and the new field of Sports Economics. During graduate school she had discovered her love of teaching and it never ceased. Well known for her sense of humor and storytelling, she enjoyed both the classroom and one on one with students.

Being transplanted to the Northwest caused her some heartbreak as she was torn between her Seahawks and the team she had been born into, the Denver Broncos. She survived the Super Bowl duel by saying she felt she would be a winner either way.

She was an avid reader of books, student of history, sports fan, movie buff and talented quilter. Her quilt “Illumination” toured in a national show and was exhibited at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado.

Apart from her students, her other great love was her Bernese Mountain Dogs whom she enjoyed training and showing. She competed in multiple dog sports and took several dogs to advanced titles. She was a member of the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America, the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Canada, the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of Greater Seattle and the Chuckanut Dog Training Association.

She passed away on April 8th due to complications from cancer treatment. Mary Ann is survived by her sister Susan (Richard) Cosby, brothers Michael and John Hendryson, her niece Wendy (Wil) Daniel, great nephews Liam and Alex Daniel, her nephew Shane Hendryson, her sister Jane Arcus, niece Victoria Hilton (Christopher), her lifelong friend Meredith Gilbert, and her beloved dogs.

Friends and students are invited to celebrate her life on October 10th at Western Washington University. There will be a Parade of Dogs at 10 am and a memorial gathering at 11 am in the AW Building, Room 210. Signage will give directions to free parking and the building.

Tax-deductible donations may be made to a scholarship fund in her name at WWU (C/O Sonja Sather, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, 98225) or to The Berner-Garde Foundation to support research for the health of dogs at: www.Bernergarde.org