Henry Jennings

Henry G. 'Hank' Jennings, a newspaperman who spent more than 30 years as a wire editor and copy editor at The Bee, died Nov. 17 of a stroke at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Maxine Jennings of Sacramento, his five children, Jeffrey Jennings of Citrus Heights, Mary Jennings of Roseville, and Anne Marie Kolstad, Sarah Jennings and James Jennings, of Sacramento and his four grandchildren.

Jennings was born April 5, 1927, in Erie, Pennsylvania and was the youngest of six children. At the age 17, he enlisted and served four years in the Army. After his discharge, he earned a degree in English and economics at Gannon University and took graduate courses in English literature at University of Pittsburgh. Henry also studied Russian, German and Spanish, which came in handy in later years on trips to Europe. Upon receiving his degree, Jennings worked as a sportswriter and reporter at the Erie Daily Times before moving to Southern California to work for the San Pedro News Pilot as a reporter.

In 1959, Jennings joined The Bee and worked for a short time as a reporter before moving up to the copy desk. As wire editor, he monitored wire services and attended daily meetings with top editors to choose stories about national and world events for the front section of the paper. With a college background in literature, Henry had a strong command of language and a broad knowledge for spotting factual errors in stories, and was held in high esteem by other editors, reporters and colleagues at The Bee equally for his quality editorial work and kind disposition. Henry also served as a leader in the Newspaper Guild while at The Bee.

Although Henry officially retired in 1991, he still enjoyed staying on top of the latest breaking news, often consulting various news sources (newspapers, CNN and national/local news programs) throughout the day. He was an active member of St. Mary's Church and he and his wife served two years as Presidents of the social club. Henry also enjoyed golf and bowling but above all else, Henry enjoyed spending time with his family and close friends.

A visitation is set for Friday, 5 p.m. Nov. 30, followed by a rosary at 7 p.m. Nov. 30, at St. Mary's Church, 1333 58th St., Sacramento. A Mass of Christian Burial is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 1 at St. Mary's Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mary's Church.