John Francis Hennen

In much of Chattanooga, when you mention the name Johnny Hennen, you’re generally greeted with one of two distinct reactions: laughter and a whole lot of head shaking, or a string of mumbled expletives. Most commonly, though, it’s both, occurring simultaneously. What’s inevitably present upon the mention of Johnny Hennen’s name, in any case, is immediate and infectious smiling (mostly accompanied by eye rolling). As a culture, we have a tendency to memorialize people only after they are gone —to create impossible legends of who they might’ve been. But Johnny requires no such process, because Johnny was a legend as he lived—the legend of the party, of the racquetball court, of the bar, of the class, of the living room at Hennen family Christmases (though none of us would’ve dared admit that to him). Every weary shake of the head at the mention of Johnny’s name is the hidden story of a night spent with him: nights of yelling over one another, of ridiculous hats and bad dancing, of inappropriate jokes and the dodging of his loving placement of a cold beer against your neck. Because in spite of him wanting so badly to seem casual, Johnny couldn’t help but be ardently declarative in his love. In pictures with his lifelong motley crew, Vic and Andy and Lanny, Johnny’s pose is almost comically identical across the decades: Johnny stands smiling in the center, with his arms stretched out around his friends. Though Johnny goofily referred to himself as “the King,” that hard exterior all but evaporated in the presence of his wife, Teresa, and his four children: Andrew, Emily, Jeffrey and Hannah. When Johnny narrowly survived kidney failure twenty years ago, his sole, abiding wish that he uttered to his brother Tim was that he would live to see his children grow up. And the King of Second Chances, the King of the Hennen family, made his own wish come true. On Thursday morning, Johnny was surrounded by his grown children, who watched him with the adoration he so jokingly demanded throughout his life. And what the official records will show is that John Francis Hennen was born in Memphis on February 3, 1947 and died in Chattanooga on March 17, 2016; but what it will neglect to show is how thoroughly and rambunctiously he lived. For every muttered curse word and smiling shake of the head (and trust me, there are a lot), there is an unspoken and glimmering memory of goofiness and laughter and, above all else, a gruff and abiding love. And cheese and crackers, what is living if not this? Join us as we celebrate the life of our family’s party at 12:00 PM on Monday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic church. The family will receive friends from 9:30-11:30 AM on Monday morning. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to OLPH School and the Kidney Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.Arrangements under the direction of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist-East Chapel, East Ridge, TN.