Ellen Anne Hennessy

HENNESSEY ELLEN ANNE HENNESSY "Nell" Ellen Anne Hennessy (Nell), Chief Executive Officer of Fiduciary Counselors, Inc., died at her home in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2011 of metastatic endometrial cancer. She was born in Auburn, New York on March 3, 1949. Nell is survived by her husband of 36 years, Frank Daspit; her mother, Mary Anne Hennessy of College Park, MD; and five siblings and their children whom she loved deeply: William (Patricia) of Denver, CO and their children, Timothy and Erin; Patrick (Kimberly) of Erie, PA and their children, Brian, Matthew and Jamie; David (Elizabeth) of Ontario, NY and their children, Conor, Christopher and Quinn; Evelyn Stack (Gerard) of College Park, MD and their daughters, Nora and Bebhinn; and Anne of Abington, PA, and countless other family and friends. Her father, Charles Hennessy, and brothers, Christopher and James, predeceased her. Nell was a nationally recognized expert on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and a tireless champion for the rights of plan participants and pension plans. She was a model and mentor to many in the field of employee benefits and worked to educate both lawyers and other benefits professionals in the intricacies of employee benefits law and practice. Nell had an open door policy when it came to sharing her wealth of experience with others, whether it was her employees, colleagues, recent graduates, friends, family or anyone with a question. Nell was a proud part owner of the Irish Channel Restaurants in downtown DC and Crofton, Maryland. It gave her great pleasure to entertain friends and colleagues at the restaurants and she participated in the St. Patrick's Day Parade every year on the Irish Channel float. Nell was an active member of the Gesneriad Society of Greater Washington and chaired their Annual Meeting held in Washington, DC in 2009. She and her husband were also active in the Sycamore Island Club, a 125 year old nature club on Sycamore Island in the Potomac River near Glen Echo, Maryland. Nell and Frank were whitewater paddlers - she was Chair of the Annual Petersburg Race in Petersburg, WV for several years and later served as a judge for the whitewater slalom competition at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Nell received her B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1971, her J.D. from the Catholic University of America in 1978 and her L.L.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984. Donations in her honor may be made to The Nell Hennessy Employee Benefits Scholar Award at the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, 3600 John McCormack Road, NE, Suite 339, Washington, DC 20064; The James Madison College Spartan Challenge Fund at Michigan State University, .Development Office, 329 South Case Hall, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48825 (Note JMU Challenge AFF0077 on the check); or Mercyhurst Preparatory School, 538 East Grandview Blvd., Erie, PA 16504-2697 or online at: http://www.mpslakrs.com/donate_mps.html or to the charity of your choice. A memorial service celebrating Nell's life will be held on at 11 a.m. on February 26, 2011 at St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill, 313 2nd Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 with a celebration of Nell's life to follow at the Irish Channel, 500 H Street NW, Washington, DC, 20001.