Jack Hensley

Jack was born on October 5, 1927 in Hobart, Oklahoma. His mother was Mattie Dement Cooper Hensley and father Homer Exford Hensley. Jack’s siblings include Gene, his older brother and best friend, and a younger sister, Betty. The family grew up moving to many different locations in Oklahoma including Hobart, Comanche, Lawton and Marlow while his father pursued careers in auto parts, farm supplies, groceries and farming. Jack and Gene worked for their dad at a young age learning their entrepreneurial skills early in life. They moved to San Diego, California for a few months, then to Memphis, Tennessee where the family bought a café. They finally settled in Northwest Arkansas in the city of Bentonville where the family bought a farm and raised chickens, cows, hogs and had a large vegetable garden.

Jack joined the Navy in 1945 at age 18. He was an engineer on several different ships in Company 303, stationed in San Diego, CA and Norfolk, VA. His days in the Navy took him to New York, Boston, Washington DC, Key West, Rhode Island, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, and the Cayman Islands. He was honorably discharged in 1947.

Jack met Anne Reid in Bentonville, Arkansas in 1947 and it was love at first sight. They dated a few months and got married February 28, 1947.

Jack and Gene went into the grocery business with their father in 1948 and opened Hensley’s Supermarket in Springdale, Arkansas. This was the beginning of his career in the grocery business. Six years later in 1954, he and Gene and Bill Gailey (Betty’s husband) bought another successful supermarket, in Pasadena, Texas. In 1955, they sold the store in Pasadena and bought a small, wooden-floored store, Fairbanks Supermarket in Fairbanks, Texas. The business was very successful and in 1957 they build a brand new 11,000 square foot supermarket right next door. They operated Fairbanks Supermarket for 15 years until they decided to sell in 1972. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and Lake Tahoe, CA for a well-deserved vacation. They then moved to East Texas and bought two convenience stores in Frankston, Texas in 1986. They retired for the second time in 1996. They moved back to Houston in 2002.

Jack is preceded in death by his loving wife of 62 years, Anne Reid Hensley: his best friend and brother, Eugene Hensley; sister, Betty Hensley Gailey; and his parents.

Survived by: Lenna Hensley Burton and husband Bob of Ashland, Oregon; son, John Hensley and wife Trix of Houston; three grandchildren, Steven Hensley and wife Heidi of Cypress; Lauren Hensley Tyler and husband Vince of Austin; and Reid Hensley and wife Dawn of Grapevine, Texas; six great grandchildren, Trevor, Justin, Brooke and Hope Hensley; and Cambria Ray and Clark Collins Tyler; along with a host of other family members and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to the Alzheimer's Association in Jack's memory at www.alz.org