In Memoriam John C. Hennessee N1KB

[ko4l]

I never met John in person, however we talked often. #He "found" my echolink station and introduced himself to me as a "hometown" boy from nearby Cheraw SC. #We would chat for a while about twice a month. #Sadly before we could physically meet he died. #I will always count not meeting John face to face as one of my mistakes on this earth. #May God continue to bless his family and especially his mom whom he loved dearly.

----Lloyd Mitchell KD4HTW

ARRL Staff Member John C. Hennessee, N1KB, SK

NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 7, 2006--Long-time ARRL Headquarters staff member John Hennessee, N1KB (ex-KJ4KB), of Newington died March 2. He was 42. A Headquarters employee since 1986, Hennessee was a regulatory information specialist in ARRL Field and Educational Services. In that role, he answered a seemingly never-ending stream of members' questions about FCC rules and regulations and other legal issues pertaining to ham radio. He also was the primary editor for The ARRL FCC Rule Book. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, described Hennessee as "a valued member of the Amateur Radio community far outside the walls of Headquarters" who achieved a lot in his short lifetime.

[AB1FV]

About a week after I earned my Extra Class, I decided to go to the ARRL and check it out, as I am a member.
According to their site, you can always request a tour of the ARRL when you go there. So, I took the 2 hour drive from the Boston area down to Newington and checked it out.
I got there at 1:00PM (Feb 22nd)
I was the only one taking the tour! It was John who gave me the tour of the ARRL! He was very nice, and very informative, and answered all my questions!
It was a shock to see his SK announcement on the ARRL Site, as I had just spoken with him about a week before he passed away!
RIP, John. You will be sadly missed!
My condolences go to out to his family, his friends, and the ARRL Staff.

AB1FV



AB1FV

[WB4FDT]

John was first licensed as KA4AUM and was active in the South Carolina CW nets and the regional CW nets where I had worked him several times. When he came to ARRL Headquarters in 1986 I was John's supervisor for his first three years. After I left HQ, we continued to stay in close touch. Except for some Church activities, all of his time was spent in amateur radio. He never married. He was quite active in the local Newington ham club and spent many of his evenings at ARRL HQ reading the lastest ARRL publication or working. He had been ill for some time and was losing his sight. When I last saw John, two weeks before his passing, he was wondering how he could continue his work once he lost his vision. John was an easy-going optimistic person and was liked by the entire staff. Despite 20 years of employment at ARRL HQ he still had a deep southern accent. In his job literally thousands of hams talked to or e-mailed John over the years. We have all lost a friend. Pip-WB4FDT

[KB1KIX]

John was a great man to have as a friend and work with on various radio activities.

I'm on the board of the local Newington club and was able to work with him quite a bit on various projects. He was a field day regular, attended most meetings and special events.

John always had a smile and never had a negative word to say about anyone. Very positive and upbeat and a great all around guy.

Ironically, for an individual that wasn't a big guy - I always bumped into him around town in various restaurants - something we joked about for a couple of years.

As was previously mentioned - he had a deep southern accent. Our club call sign is W1OKY - I got such a kick out of hearing him call "CQ field day, CQ field day Whiskey One Oscar Kilo Yankee" - everytime he got to yankee it made me chuckle hearing the word yankee with that deep southern accent.

John, you will be missed old friend.

Jonathan, KB1KIX

[WB4FDT]

Its Been Over Two Years Since Your Passing And Your Still Missed. Pip Wb4fdt