Eric Ryan Hensley

1985 - 2017

It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Eric Ryan Hensley on Friday, March 24, 2017 at 31 years of age. He lived in Oklahoma City and worked as a Territory Manager for Appareo Systems. Eric was flying his personal aircraft outside of Oklahoma City on Friday when the plane went down.
Eric was born in Edmond on June 22, 1985. He grew up in Tulsa and attended Jenks High School where he graduated in 2004. Eric attended Oklahoma State University and earned his Bachelor of Science in Marketing in 2007 then earned his Masters of Business Administration at Texas State University in 2009. After graduation Eric lived in Austin, Texas and worked in the Economic Development area of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce. In 2010 he moved to Oklahoma City and began working for Chesapeake Energy as a Landman. After five years with Chesapeake he moved on to pursue his passion, aviation. He earned his private pilot license in 2016 and began working for Appareo Systems.
Eric was a passionate person with a big heart and an even bigger smile. He was kind to everyone he met and always put others first. Eric loved his family fiercely and was a loyal friend that could always be depended on. Eric loved flying, music, playing the guitar, fishing, hunting, and was an Eagle Scout. He was unconditionally generous and believed that God blessed him to be able to bless others.
He and Lara Dawn Upshaw were married on July 19, 2014, and his life was forever changed with the arrival of their daughter, Reese, in October 2016. He loved his baby girl and his wife with every ounce of his soul and it was apparent just by the way he looked at them. Lara and Reese were his two greatest loves and everything he did in life was for them.
Eric will be forever remembered by his loving wife Lara and their infant daughter Reese, by his parents Jerry and Diane Hensley (Tulsa), his sister Sara Andrews and husband Wade and their daughter Saige (Edmond), his grandmothers Carlene Hensley (Miami) and Shirley Guerrieri (Tulsa/Miami), Lara's parents Steve and Opal Upshaw (Bartlesville/Ponca City), and numerous uncles, aunts, cousins, extended family and close friends.
Eric was preceded in death by his grandfathers Glenn Hensley and Art Guerrieri (Miami).
A memorial service to celebrate Eric's life will be held at Life.Church Broadway and Britton at 9001 N. Broadway Extension in Oklahoma City on Friday, March 31, 2017 at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, if desired, loved ones may donate a memorial contribution to the charity of your choosing or to the Reese Hensley Scholarship Fund at Regent Bank. (7136 S Yale Ave, STE 100, Tulsa, OK 74136).