Tom Hennies, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Tom Hennies

American politician

Date of Birth: 11-Aug-1939

Place of Birth: Wagner, South Dakota, United States

Date of Death: 11-Aug-2009

Profession: politician, police officer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Leo


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About Tom Hennies

  • Thomas L.
  • Hennies (August 11, 1939 – August 11, 2009) was an American police officer and politician. Tom Hennies was the third son born to Lewis and Mariellen Hennies in Wagner, South Dakota on August 11, 1939.
  • The family moved to Chamberlain, then Rapid City, where Hennies was raised alongside older brothers Ron and Don Hennies.
  • Tom Hennies graduated from Rapid City High School in 1957 and became a firefighter for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.
  • Later that year, he enlisted in the United States Army.
  • He was assigned to the United States Army Security Agency and sent to Japan.
  • After a year in Japan, Hennies was reassigned to South Korea, where he remained until discharge from active service.Hennies attended the Black Hills Teachers College and University of South Dakota.
  • He married Ann Luedemann in 1963 and joined the Rapid City Police Department two years later.
  • He was on duty during the 1972 Black Hills flood, and eventually found himself floating in his patrol car.
  • Shortly after radioing for help, he was rescued by the Rapid City Fire Department.
  • In 1984, Hennies was named police chief of Rapid City, and established a partnership with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.
  • Hennies stepped down as police chief in 2000 to focus on his duties as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, to which he had first been elected in 1998.
  • When Hennies won reelection in 2000, his brother Don began his first term in same legislative body.
  • In his final reelection campaign in 2004, Hennies finished first in District 32, ahead of fellow Republican Alan Hanks, Democrats Mike Wilson and Anita Paige.
  • Near the end of his fourth and final term as a state representative, Hennies was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.
  • He was seeking treatment for the disease at Mayo Clinic when he died, aged 70, on August 11, 2009.
  • His funeral was held on August 18, 2009, with the entire Rapid City Police Department in attendance.
  • Hennies was interred at the Black Hills National Cemetery.

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