Sr. Dorothy Marie Hennessey was born in Manchester, the daughter of Maurice and Anne (Killeas) Hennessey - one of 15 children born to that family.

Sr. Dorothy entered the Sisters of Saint Francis on January 25, 1932, and made her final profession of vows on August 12, 1937. She taught at schools in Templeton, Remsen, Worthington, Holy Cross, Dubuque, and Waterloo, as well as in Portland, Oregon.

Sr. Dorothy became internationally known for her work in peace and justice.

She is survived by sisters Sr. Gwen, Geraldine, Catherine, Marilyn and Mary Jane; brothers, Maurice, David and Lawrence; numerous nieces and nephews; and the Franciscan with whom she shared nearly 76 years of life.

Sr. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Sr. Miriam and Monica, and her brothers Fr. Ron, Tom, John and James.∼She received national attention in 2001 when she and her sibling, Sr.Gwen Hennessey, were sentenced to six months each in a federal prison in Pekin,IL. They joined others protesting the US Army Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (formerly knows as the School of the Americas) in Fort Benning,GA. Latin American military officers and soldiers trained there and opponents of the program believed graduates were responsible for the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests and two women in El Salvador. She & her sister Gwen received the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award from the Diocese of Davenport in 2002.
To quote Dan Ebener of St.Ambrose U.,Davenport,IA. "She had a way of inspiring me to take things on and to do things otherwise I wouldn't do. She was really precious about the way she had a concern about social justice and her compassion for the little ones, the underdogs. Like Jesus, Dorothy never had any position of power. She was never the leader. She would just inspire us to get things done. She never learned to drive. In the 1970's, when she got upset over a piece of pending state legislation on food stamps, she hitchicked to Des Moines to speak with legislators about her concerns and hitchiked back to Dubuque."

VOCATION:
Sisters of St. Francis
Entered 1/25/1932
Final profession of vows
8/12/1937

TEACHER:
Iowa schools
Templeton,
Remsen,
Worthington,
Holy Cross,Dubuque,
Columbus High School,Waterloo &
Portland,OR.

FATHER:
Maurice Hennessey,
10/29/1879 -

MOTHER:
Anna Monica Killeas Hennessey

SIBLINGS:
Monica A. Hennessey;

Thomas Anthony Hennessey;

Sr. Miriam Anna Hennessey;

Geraldine M. Hennessey;

John Joseph Hennessey;

Catherine E. Hennessey;

Maurice V. Hennessey;

H. David Hennessey;

Fr. Ronald E. Hennessey;

James Hennessey;

Sr. Gwen Hennessey;

Marilyn Hennessey;

Mary Jane Hennessey &

Lawrence Hennessey