John Hennes dies.
John Hennes, a pillar of the Queen Anne Historical Society, died on January 19, 2023, on the cusp of his 90th birthday. Born in Magnolia, John lived nearly all his adult life on Queen Anne. In 1982, he participated in the founding of the Queen Anne High School Alumni Association and the new KUAY, its newsletter. John demonstrated his loyalty to his alma mater through his editorial leadership of the newsletter from its rebirth until his passing. *
John also served on the board of the Queen Anne Historical Society for nearly 15 years. His contributions to the society nourished and sustained its work. In addition to a term as board president, John diligently served on the committee that prepared the ever-popular tour of the Mount Pleasant Cemetery. For the book Queen Anne Community on the Hill, published by the society in 1993 and which is still available, John largely wrote the chapter entitled In Our Time – 1950-1993. Significantly, the last entry in the chapter alludes to the creation in 1993 of the Upper Queen Anne Urban Village. John understood the potential of this pivotal idea in the future history of Queen Anne and urban planning. So, as the book went to press, he made sure to include it in his chapter on “Our Time.” Now in 2023 with the construction of the Boston 21 Safeway project, the urban village is beginning to meet its potential. John is also credited as the book’s Technical Advisor, a role that reflected his professional credentials as a physicist and rocket engineer at the Boeing Company.
While at Boeing (1965-95) John worked on the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) project, an important element of the Space Shuttle program. Put simply, the IUS propelled Shuttle “payloads” --a satellite or other spacecraft-- from the Shuttle’s low-earth orbit into a much higher orbit or into outer space. *
John’s warm encouraging smile never failed to encourage.
On a personal note, from 2010 to 2021 John consistently attended all the public meetings of the Queen Anne Historical Society during my term as the society’s president and never once failed to share an encouraging word and a big smile that I always appreciated. John willingly gave me time and advice to make sure the society’s work in print and online remained historically accurate and mission driven.