Steven Francis Hennessey

We do it a hundred times a day. As we leave for work, as we go to the market or to the car wash. After a quick chat with a friend on the street corner. At night before going to bed with our significant other or putting our children to bed. On the phone with far away parents or relatives. A quick goodbye, good night, see you later, give me a call… keep in touch. Carrying on with the subconscious certainty that there will always be a later, a tomorrow. Never considering that the persons involved in the conversation including ourselves may be gone before the next sunrise and this farewell truly will be the last goodbye.

We are saying a truly final goodbye to Steven Francis Hennessey. Over the past five years we have watched as the ravages of dementia slowly took the Steve we knew and loved away from us. For the past few years, the end of every visit was a final goodbye for us because the Steve we were saying goodbye to was not the Steve we may see at some future time. We have been engaged in the “long goodbye.” It did not seem to be a goodbye to him. Every new day was a new adventure. He embraced everything around him. He seemed amazed at all the “new’ things he saw. Old friends became new friends every time he met them. No matter how many times he had visited a place it was a new place full of new adventures and filling him with awe. Tune in to a 1960’s or 70’s classic rock station and he would sing, dance and play the air guitar. He had the wonder of a child discovering the world and no matter where he was or who he met, when he left, he would always say “… I love you” to those present. It was us who were left saddened as we watched the person we knew slowly disappear.

The little boy that sat under the desk of his schoolteacher mother and was literally a fourth-grade student for four years; the teenager who attended St Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover where he met his future wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Hourigan. The guy who, in preparation for the prom, was not afraid to climb into the rafters of the gym to string crepe paper turning the gym into the exotic Pacific Isle of Bali Hai. He was the young adult who attended and graduated from St Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire with a degree in economics. While not being one of the biggest students on campus he was fearless. He played club football all four years and often returned to the dorm bloody and battered but always looking forward to the next game.

Throughout his high school and college years he was a jack of almost all trades. He could cook… a master of the Spoon Roast which brought gastronomic euphoria to those lucky enough to be served it. He rebuilt his beloved 1960 Ford Falcon, Audry, he did carpentry work and held many positions at The Shawmut Inn in Kennebunk, Maine including those of waiter, chef, matre’d, bookkeeper and all round gofer. He began skiing at an early age and maintained his love of the sport throughout his life. He was especially drawn to the difficulties of downhill and no mound, hill or mountain was too great a challenge for him. The blacker the diamond, the more he enjoyed the run.

Putting his economics degree to use, he worked in hospital administration in Boston and eventually moved to Maine to take a position at Webber Hospital. While employed he developed a cadre of like-minded individuals who remained friends through their entire careers. On sunny and maybe not so sunny weekends the group could usually be found on the links. Many members of the group were also fishermen who enjoyed being out on the water with Steve in his boat. As time passed and hospital consolidations occurred, his knowledge, skills and personality allowed him to (as he stated) “survive” the take overs and mergers and retire after 37 years as Vice President of Support Services for Southern Maine Medical Center.

He and Betsy raised two sons, of whom they were immensely proud. He loved spending time in his boat and fishing with his sons. He was also an excellent restorer of old houses, bringing two old New England farmhouses back to life. These restorations were family affairs involving Steve and Betsy and later both sons. In July 2000 Betsy passed away and Steve became a single parent.

In 2005 Steve met Cynthia Johnson and they were married on February 23rd, 2008. Cynthia claimed it was the two bottles of wine (white and red because he did not know which she liked) the blue blazer, khaki pants and, best of all, the shined Weejun Loafers he wore that convinced her he was the one. Steve and Cynthia loved to travel and visited many European and North American locales. Cynthia especially enjoyed the Rhine River Cruise in which she learned how to make German Strudel.

He will be remembered as a kind and generous friend by all who had the privilege of knowing him. His smile and friendship will be missed.

Steven was predeceased by his parents, his first wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Hennessey and his brother Richard Thomas Hennessey.

Steven Francis Hennessey, who was the youngest of the three sons of Ralph and Vera (Blinkhorn) Hennessey, was born on February 24, 1948. He was raised in Somersworth, New Hampshire and resided in Dayton, Maine. Steve passed away on February 16th, 2025, in Portland, Maine. He is survived by his wife Cynthia, his sons Patrick, and his wife Amanda, Brian and his wife Desirae, his brother Vincent and his sister-in-law Susan Hennessey.

A Celebration of Steven's life is planned for April 19, 2025 from 11 AM - 2 PM at his home.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to leave condolences for the Hennessey family and sign Steven's online guest book.