Penny Hendrix
| Penny Hendrix | |
 | |
| Chair Bell County Libertarian Party | |
| 2001—? | |
| Predecessor: | Unknown |
| Successor: | Unknown |
| Personal Details | |
| Birth: | September 22, 1959 Wellsburg, Iowa |
| Death: | April 7, 2025 (aged 65) Burton, Texas |
| Education: | BBA in Electronic Data Processing (Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M University–Kingsville) |
| Occupation: | Senior Programmer/Analyst, Software Architect |
| Residence: | Texas |
| Party: | Libertarian Party |
| view image gallery | |
Penny Caroline "Swami Shuddhatmananda" Hendrix (September 22, 1959 – April 7, 2025) was a software architect, U.S. Marine veteran, and Libertarian Party activist from Texas. She was the founder and longtime Chair of the Bell County Libertarian Party and a 2008 candidate for State Representative.
Biography
Early Life and Career
Penny Caroline Boekhoff was born on September 22, 1959, in Wellsburg, Iowa to Albert and Lorine Boekhoff. Her family lived in the United States as well as Japan and Germany during her father's Army service. She graduated from Wellsburg High School at age 17, earning All-State honors in basketball, softball, band, and track, placing 10th in the state in the half-mile event.
Following graduation, she enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a Lance Corporal (E3) in the Marine Band playing clarinet. After an honorable discharge, she attended Texas A&I University in Kingsville (now Texas A&M University–Kingsville), where she competed in basketball and track and graduated summa cum laude with a BBA in Electronic Data Processing.
In 1983, she married John Thomas Hendrix. The couple lived in South and Central Texas and collaborated on poetry books, with Tom writing the poems and Penny doing the illustrations and publishing. Tom passed away in 2014.
Professionally, Penny worked for decades as a Senior Programmer/Analyst and co-founded Legisym in 2009, where she was instrumental as a software and database architect.
Politics
Penny Hendrix founded the Bell County Libertarian Party in 2001 and served as its Chair. She was a Libertarian Party candidate for Texas State Representative in 2008.
Death and Legacy
Penny Hendrix passed away on April 7, 2025, at the Temple of Compassion in Burton, Texas, after a battle with colon cancer. She embraced a spiritual life as Swami Shuddhatmananda Giri and founded the Temple of Compassion in 2016 as a Kriya Yoga ashram and monastery. She was also active in her local community as a volunteer firefighter and leader in the Latium Wesley Greenvine Volunteer Fire Department.
She published a book titled The Tao Te Ching in the Light of Kriya Yoga during her final months.
Political Campaigns
- 2008 – Candidate for Texas State Representative (Libertarian Party)
Organizational Positions
- Chair (2001–?)
Bibliography
- The Tao Te Ching in the Light of Kriya Yoga (2025)
References