Dr. Thomas Henneberry

Henneberry, Dr. Thomas
87, of Tempe, AZ passed away on November 3, 2016. The Henneberry family announces with great sadness the loss of their beloved husband and father. Tom was a prominent member both regionally and nationally with the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Henneberry retired in 2007 with more than 55 years of federal service with the Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
Tom was born in 1929 in Milford, Massachusetts to Beatrice and Thomas Henneberry. He graduate from Medway High School with a football scholarship to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor of Science in Entomology from the University of Massachusetts in 1951 and his M.S. and Pd.D. in Entomology from the University of Maryland in 1956 and 1960. He began his career in 1951 in the USDA, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine in Orlando, FL working on mosquito, mite, and tick control research. In 1953, he entered the U.S. Army and served in the Chemical Corps as a Biological Research Assistant at Dugway Proving Ground, UT, doing microbiology research. He returned to ARS as a Research Entomologist in 1955 doing ornamental insect and vegetable research in Beltsville, MD until 1963. He continued his vegetable insect research as investigations Leader in Riverside, CA until 1966, when he returned to Beltsville as Assistant Branch Chief for the Fruit and Vegetable Insect Research Branch. He became Branch Chief of the Ornamental, Vegetable and Specialty Crops Research Branch in 1969. In 1972, he became the Area Director for the Northern Area out of Phoenix, AZ, and served as an Agricultural Administrator for multidiscipline research on cotton, soil, and water, and rangeland programs. In 1974, he became the Laboratory Director and Research Leader of the newly opened Western Cotton Research Laboratory in Phoenix. Dr. Henneberry was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1989 and then to the Senior Scientific Research Service in 2005. In February 2006, he became the Center Director for the new U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center, Maricopa, AZ that combined two former ARS Laboratories from Phoenix. Dr. Henneberry's research contributed significantly to management of pink bollworm, cotton bollworms, sweet potato whitefly, glassy-winged sharpshooter and other insects. He provided entomological leadership and expertise for environmentally sound, multi-discipline approaches to pest management. He published more than 800 journal articles, proceedings, book chapters, and technical reports. Dr. Henneberry received numerous awards and recognition through his career, including induction into the ARS Hall of Fame in 1998, two Presidential Meritorious Awards and the National Cotton Council's Miles Recognition Award for outstanding contribution to the cotton
industry. Dr. Henneberry had a lasting impact on the many people that he worked with and mentored during his long career at ARS and he will be dearly missed. Tom and Nancy have lived at The Lakes in Tempe since 1972 and celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in June. Tom was a past president of The Lakes Community Association. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, tennis, and spending time in the White Mountains in their home in Pinetop, AZ. The family wishes to thank the medical staff at Promise Hospital in Mesa, AZ and Chandler Regional Hospital in Chandler, AZ for the outstanding care given during his final weeks. He is survived by Nancy and their four children, Nanci Pitkethly (Husband Dave and son Alex), Tom III (Wife, Sarah), Pam Kane (Husband John, and daughters Katlyn and Maddie), and Mike. A celebration in memory of Tom will be Friday, December 30th, 5:00 pm at the Lakes Beach and Tennis Club, 5501 Lakeshore Drive, Tempe AZ.