13 Facts About Tom Hennies

Thomas L Hennies was an American police officer and politician.

Tom Hennies was the third son born to Lewis and Mariellen Hennies in Wagner, South Dakota on August 11,1939.

The family moved to Chamberlain, then Rapid City, where Hennies was raised alongside older brothers Ron and Don Hennies.

Tom Hennies graduated from Rapid City High School in 1957 and became a firefighter for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.

Tom Hennies was assigned to the United States Army Security Agency and sent to Japan.

Tom Hennies attended the Black Hills Teachers College and University of South Dakota.

Tom Hennies married Ann Luedemann in 1963 and joined the Rapid City Police Department two years later.

Tom Hennies was on duty during the 1972 Black Hills flood, and eventually found himself floating in his patrol car.

In 1984, Tom Hennies was named police chief of Rapid City, and established a partnership with the Pennington County Sheriff's Office.

Tom Hennies stepped down as police chief in 2000 to focus on his duties as a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, to which he had first been elected in 1998.

When Tom Hennies won reelection in 2000, his brother Don began his first term in same legislative body.

Tom Hennies was seeking treatment for the disease at Mayo Clinic when he died on his birthday at the age of 70, on August 11,2009.

Tom Hennies's funeral was held on August 18,2009, with the entire Rapid City Police Department in attendance.