Shane Hennessey
February 5, 1981 — September 9, 2015
Shane Michael Hennessey, a loving son, father, devoted husband and compassionate brother, died peacefully at the young age of 34, on September 09, 2015 at his residence in Schertz, TX, after a lengthy battle with a work related injury. Born February 05, 1981 in Tampa, FL, Shane resided in numerous places before his family set roots in Wesley Chapel, FL. Shane's joy was always in helping others. As a young child he helped raise Seeing Eye dogs for the blind. As a youth he regularly did mission work and volunteered with local organizations. He received his homeschooling diploma while always striving to be an excellent Soldier for The Lord. After graduating, Shane attended Alert Academy in 2000 and studied to be an EMT. He also received 20 hours of flight training and a SCUBA diver certification. Shane was deeply moved by the events of 9/11 and decided he needed to help his country in any way he could. After convincing his best friend Mike, the two joined the Marine Corps together on February 26, 2002. Soon thereafter Shane met and married his wife, Valerie, on November 11, 2002. Shane was stationed at Twentynine Palms, CA, aka "The Stumps". Shane was a part of Marine Corps Firefighter Crash Crew 374-ARFF. He served honorably, including a deployment to Iraq in 2003, and earned numerous awards. During his military enlistment he earned his Associates Degree from Copper Mountain College and also received his CDL license. After his discharge in 2006, Shane began a new journey as a Department of Defense Firefighter. His fire stations included Twentynine Palms CA Marine Corps Combat Center, Naval Air Station Kingsville, TX, Veteran Affairs Fire Station Helena, MT, and his current employer Ft. Sam Houston Fire Dept. in San Antonio, TX. Throughout his career Shane received numerous awards, including Civilian of the Quarter, Firefighter of the Quarter, several monetary excellence awards, a paid reward trip to attend the National Fire Chief convention in Chicago, IL (accompanying his station fire chief), and many more. He unselfishly volunteered numerous times to represent his fire station as Sparky the Dog, or to act as a tour guide during public relations events. These included Fire Safety Month school presentations, on-base celebrations such as Pilot of the Month, in-town holiday parades, and more. For a short time Shane was also a Volunteer Firefighter for Kingsville, TX, where he earned a training chief position. This suited Shane's passion to teach others the firefighting field. Shane will be dearly missed and remembered for so many things. He had a contagious smile; his unique creativity expressed itself in the building of rustic furniture; he had a love for the outdoors, a deep passion for his wife and five beautiful children, and a genuine desire to serve His Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Shane lived his final days full of faith and courage. He fought a good fight, ran a good race, and now has received a crown of glory. He is now a Soldier of Glory dancing on the streets of gold with his Heavenly Father. Shane's final written words were as follows: "I am (despite my circumstances) still at peace even in the worst of situations. My Proclamation to the World is that while here on this earth, if you want your life to mean anything it has to have meaning through Christ Jesus. When He is able to rule your life you have such a peace because your troubles and daily battles are no longer your problem. You can now relinquish them into the hands of the living God Christ Jesus." "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ...But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:54-55, 57-58 KJV Shane is survived by his wife Valerie Hennessey, his 5 wonderful children, Chad Francis Scott, Alyssa Leah, Katelyn Elizabeth, Ethan Andrew and Seth Patrick, his parents D. Mike and Sheralyn Hennessey, and adopted siblings Michael James Hennessey and Lydia Danielle Hennessey. His family would like to thank everyone who supported, encouraged, prayed for and helped in innumerable ways during this extremely hard time. Words cannot express our gratitude and there are too many to name. Never-the-less, our heartfelt thanks to First Baptist Church Universal City, Dr. Tony Evans Ministry, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship-Marshall Wesley, Christian Recording Artists For King & Country and Moriah Peters, Congressman Doggett's office, Environmental Center-Dallas, TX, Regina Caeli Environmental Condos-Dallas, TX, Wayland Baptist University Counselor Jennifer Martin, Sun Oven Company, Former Inland Homes President Bill Hoover, Operation Comfort, Sippel Elementary and Schlather Intermediate Staff, Chief Davis, Ft. Sam Houston Fire Dept., Bible Study Fellowship family, Schertz neighbors, Schertz Funeral Home and lastly dear family and close friends from all over the country, including those anonymous donors - you know who you are. Services will be held at First Baptist Church Universal City, TX, on September 18, 2015 from 11-12:30pm followed by burial at Ft. Sam Houston at 1:30. In lieu of flowers the family requests gifts be made to ministries dear to their hearts: The Gideon's www.gideons.org Dr. Tony Evans Ministry www.tonyevans.org First Baptist Universal City Benevolence Fund https://fbcuniversalcity.securegive.com/SG/WebOnline/Transaction/Instant?transactionType=Donation (Select Give without an account and designate "OTHER" and specify BENEVOLENCE FUND-Shane Hennessey') QUESTIONS or accommodation arrangements can be handled by Vanessa Miller at
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