A wish come true: Veteran celebrates 88th birthday with ride in motorcycle sidecar

Richard Hendron experienced the birthday surprise of a lifetime on Aug. 13, when he got a chance to take a 30-mile ride in a motorcycle sidecar.

Hendron, who turned 88 on Aug. 11, always loved riding a motorcycle when he was younger, and the Oak Trail Shores resident frequently spoke to his daughter, Sherry Taylor, about wanting to ride again.

“When I go into town, I take him because he doesn’t get out much and he doesn’t drive anymore,” she said. “He would see the motorcycles and he would start talking about his days and he said, ‘I wish I could ride again.’”

Hendron also lost his girlfriend of 28 years to cancer in 2019, something Taylor described as having a detrimental effect on his emotional state.

Seeing her father lose his spark, Taylor knew she wanted to do something special for her his 88th birthday that would put a smile on his face again.

“He hasn’t done much in living life since her (his girlfriend’s) death. I wanted to give him that wish to ride again,” Taylor said. “I would see these awesome looking Harleys with a sidecar on them and I thought there might be somebody out there who will give him a ride on his birthday, because there’s not a whole lot that you can give an 88-year-old man that would mean anything, so I tried to give him something that was meaningful. He’s to the point where he has nothing to look forward to, so I thought, ‘What can I give him that would lift up his spirits and show him that life isn’t over just because you’re 88 and you don’t have someone to take care of?’”

Taylor reached out on Facebook and asked if someone with a motorcycle and a sidecar would give her father a ride, essentially asking for the community’s help in making her father’s birthday wish come true.

The post got more than 350 responses from residents seeking to help Taylor and Hendron. After seeing the responses, Taylor commented and thanked the public for their kindness.

“I am so very proud to be a part of a community that is as kind as the people I have met tonight,” her post states. “There are so many who wish to attend and give my Pops a ride. I think it will be a birthday party that won't be forgotten anytime soon. I just want to thank everyone for their generosity and warm hearts. In these tough times, it's truly amazing to me that people give so much!”

Due to the overwhelming number of responses, Taylor decided to make an event out of the birthday surprise. She invited the public to meet at 10 a.m. on Aug. 13 at the Decker Gym parking lot. From there, the crowd would drive for 35 minutes to celebrate with cake at the Rattlesnake Ballroom Roadhouse in Walnut Springs.

Altogether, 13 bikes showed up for the birthday celebration — and Hendron had no idea there would be that many.

“I just pulled up and told him, ‘Look at the bikes.’ He didn’t wanna get out of the car, but we finally got him out,” Taylor said. “He started talking to people and saying, ‘Hello.’ People started saying, ‘Happy birthday’ to him, and he still didn’t know what was going on. We finally had to tell him ‘Dad, this is for you,’ and then he got a great big smile on his face.”

Hendron rode in the sidecar attached to Granbury resident Allen Wammack’s custom Indian-brand motorcycle.

Taylor said even now, several days later, her father is still talking about his ride and how much fun he had.

“He thought we were going to get breakfast; he had no clue whatsoever. He’s still talking about it,” she said. “He can’t believe that I pulled something off like that. He keeps asking, ‘How did I do that?’ ‘How did I know all these people?’ It was hard for him to comprehend that that many people who didn’t know us would do something like that.”

Hendron is a Navy veteran who served in the Korean war from 1950-1954. During his tour, he received four medals: the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Navy China Service Medal.

He grew up in Portland, Oregon, where he lived for the last 50 years until moving to Hood County a couple of years ago.

Taylor said most of his adult life, her dad was a country and Western musician. She said he made a couple of records, but his career never took off.

He also enjoys woodworking and has made jewelry boxes and canes for some of the people that he’s met since he arrived in Hood County.

Hendron has five children, 14 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

“He had a blast,” Taylor said of his sidecar ride. “He said he saw more Texas that day than he has in a while. I thank the people of our community for making this wish come true.”

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