Gerard Tate Hennessy

Springfield - A Tribute to "Kilroy"

Gerard Tate Hennessy passed into eternity in the early hours of Monday September 30. He was 97 years old. He was laid to rest on October 9 at the National Cemetery with full military honors. He was born October 29, 1926, to Daisy Dolly and John J. Hennessy. Her father was from Arkansas and fought in the American Civil War for the Union Army. His father came from Ireland. Gerard had two older brothers, John and Tom. Like the rest of their generation, they were children of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and World War II. Gerard enjoyed telling about how, in the mid-1930s, Springfield's Lake McDaniel dried up from the extended heat wave and water wells had to be drilled to supplement its water level. He was very interested in sports. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. While attending Springfield High School, now known as Central High, he played baseball as a catcher and football as a running back. He worked as a lifeguard at Fassnight Park and a bellboy at a hotel in Rockaway Beach. Then, in 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harber allied with Nazi Germany they became the hell that came knocking on freedom's door. Gerard joined his two brothers and 16 million other Americans in answering it. John was in the US Army at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. Tom joined the Navy and saw combat aboard the battleship U.S.S. California. That ship took part in the Battle of Surigao Straits where two Japanese battleships and a heavy cruiser were sunk. Later the California was stuck by a Japanese Kamikaze plane and 18 sailors were killed. In 1944, at the age of 18, Gerard joined the US Army as an infantryman. He was on a troop ship headed for Guam to participate in the invasion of Japan when the two atomic bombs were dropped. This effectively ended the war. Thus, it took 2 nightmares to stop the nightmare of the Second World War.

After the war ended, Gerard went to college at what we now call Missouri State University. He met the love of his life, Delila, with whom he was married for nearly 60 years. Her picture is still in his wallet. Delila passed away in 2007 and has been dearly missed. Gerard went to work for Southwestern Bell Telephone Company and AT&T for nearly 38 years. He had three sons: Tate, Patrick, and Kerry. Tate and Kerry were born with birth defects and Gerard never left their sides. Patrick became a Petroleum Geologist. After he retired, Gerard devoted much of his time to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ along with fellow members of the Full Gospel Businessmen's Association. Among those men, Gerard was known as "Cowboy" for the years he spent raising cattle and for his propensity for wearing cowboy hats. They traveled throughout Eastern Europe and Mexico together. Gerard was also a member of the Telephone Pioneers and the Pat Jones Y for years.

Gerard is survived by four nieces Debbie, Jonna, Lisa, and Robin, as well as his son Patrick. His brothers have both passed away. Gerard was a wonderful man and a fitting member of "The Greatest Generation." In the words of President Franklin Roosevelt, they were America's sons, pride of our nation, and will always be remembered for endeavoring to set free a suffering humanity. Because they did it under the slogan "Kilroy was here," if you remove "Kilroy" from the equation, Europe, Asia, and Africa are lost to the darkness. So thank you, Gerard, for your service, for always being there, for being a friend, and for being my dad. Heaven has won one. Love you. Miss you. See ya later. Happy Birthday.

Pray for Peace,

Pat