John Hennessey had a dry sense of humour and retained it until his dying days,
says his son, John Hennessey Jr.
"A few days before he passed away, Dad had a picture of his
granddaughter, Mallory, with her new pup (Rooney) and Dad's dog, Koda, at his
bedside. A nurse came in and asked, 'Is that your picture?' and Dad said, 'No,
that's my dog,' " said Hennessey Jr.
John Charles Hennessey, 79, of Fairfield, died Sunday at the Saint John
Regional Hospital. Born in Blacks Harbour, he was a son of the late C. Eugene
and Myrtle (McDowell) Hennessey. He lived in West Saint John.
When he was young, John Hennessey Jr. said, his father, who retired as a
transmission line supervisor with NB Power in 1984 after 35 years of service,
put in a lot of time at work and didn't have a lot of time to do things
together with him. But, in spite of that, they had a strong father-son bond.
He said his dad loved hunting and fishing, but "I wasn't a keen
hunter." About 30 years ago, his dad's friend told him he had a camp near
Sussex and if he had a hunting licence he "would guarantee him a
moose." Hennessey and both of his sons registered for the hunting licence
and all three of them won the draw.
"Dad said, 'I will take Dana with me because he is younger and I'll hook
you up with someone else.' I got a moose. He wasn't impressed. He wasn't angry
or anything; it was a teasing point."
He said his father did get a few deer during his hunting expeditions.
Hennessey's friend, Dave Mawhinney, who often went hunting with him, also
joked about Hennessey's hunting capabilities: "He was a good friend to
travel with, but he wasn't much of a shot. . . . He was a pretty good cook. We
did hunt together until about the last three or four years. He had couple of
operations and that slowed him up a bit."
Mawhinney described Hennessey as "quite a man. . . He must have been one
strong man, with all the medical problems he had. He never complained,"
he said. "You just play the cards that are dealt to you."
He said Hennessey often gave him a hand in working on his home or his car.
"Any time you needed a hand, he was ready. I am going to miss him, no
doubt about that," Mawhinney said.
John Hennessey's survivors include his wife, Josephine (McNeil) Hennessey of
Saint John, and six daughters.
The body rested at Castle Funeral Home (Fallsview). Funeral mass was
celebrated Thursday from Assumption Church.
Interment followed in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
SOURCE: New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, NB) - June 1, 2007.
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