Clarence "Gene" Eugene Hennessey

September 28, 1939 - December 21, 2020

Clarence Eugene “Gene” Hennessey, age 81, passed away with complications of COVID 19 on December 21, 2020 at the Oklahoma City Veterans Hospital. He is survived by his wife, Jeannette “Jan” Hennessey, four children: Vina Lanier and her husband Rip Lanier, Brian Hennessey, Debbie Kelley and her husband Britt Kelley, Cindy Lankford and her husband James Lankford, 7 grandchildren, and a brother, Bob Hennessey. Gene was a Vietnam era Army veteran who was born in Catoosa, OK and grew up in Turley, OK. He served honorably six years in the Army achieving the rank of Staff Sergeant and finishing at Fort Sill. Gene worked faithfully for over 28 years at Texas Instruments. He was a Senior Design Engineer and Inventor who worked on the commercial use for radar, which he learned in the Army, leading to his team designing the first backup sensor for automobiles, aspects of the Polaroid camera, and other inventions that we still use every day. Each time you hear a warning sound in your car as you back out of a parking spot, you should say thank you to Gene Hennessey. He will be interred Saturday, December 26th in a private family service at Fort Sill National Cemetery.