Frederick Gerald Hensey

From his daughter Linda ~

Dear Dad,

I will miss you terribly and so will many people whom you loved, cared for and helped. My father was a unique man of incredible intelligence and wisdom. He was born in Albany, New York on October 31, 1931. His parents were Jordi and Irena Hensey. His father was from Hamburg, Germany and his mother from Asturias, Spain. He grew up learning many languages and speaking them fluently, including Spanish, English, French Portuguese, Esperanto, Greek, Latin, Russian and some Sanskrit. He was a member of Mensa and loved opera, classic literature and his favorite authors were Humberto Eco, Borges and Pablo Neruda. As a child I would say the biggest influence he had on me was learning to respect other people, to be understanding, tolerant and multilingual. He wanted his children to be kind, thoughtful and open-minded.

He accomplished many professional endeavors including being Professor Emeritus of the University of Texas, Spanish and Portuguese Department. He helped many students obtain their Ph.D and he had for many years extremely positive feedback from his students saying that he motivated and helped them love learning. He was kind and patient and was a person of outstanding teaching skills. A truly dedicated professor both to his students and to his university.

He was also an advocate for those individuals that have suffered injustices in the legal system and was one of the first people to pass the Federal Court Interpreters Test where he conducted simultaneous translations. Many Texas judges and top lawyers in the State of Texas will remember my father and his ability to help people get workman's compensation and bring justice to the world.

My father was a journalist during the Korean war where he served in the Airforce. He was a Fulbright Scholar and later did his Ph.D in Brazil, thanks to my father, I learned I was able to passionately love literature, art, music, opera and languages. He was a quiet, modest man with many talents which he used to help other people.

He will be missed by his daughter Rosalinda Hensey Lanier, his son Frank Hensey Lanier, his grandchildren Christopher and Steven Lanier and all the hundreds of students that he taught.

He told me once, that we all live on borrowed time and that time is precious. We both believed that no one dies who is a loving person and loved and helped people. My memories of him will keep him alive in my heart.

To a great man, a loving father and a great academic...I say goodbye and I love you very much.

Linda Hensey Lanier

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From his son Frank ~

Dear Dad,

I will always remember you as the best father a son could possibly have had. You always treated me with respect and kindness and were never mean to me. I always thought you were one of the kindest people on this planet. I will always look back on the good times we shared and your brilliant sense of humor! You always made me laugh and always had positive things to say. You showed me the meaning of character and dignity as well as solid work ethics. I love you pop and will always remember you and keep you in my heart.

You loving son,

Frank

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldenforestoaks.com for the Hensey family.