A Farewell to Tom Hennessey (Share Your Memories)

Former Patriots Defensive Back, and a former Selectman and former School Committee member here in Brookline, Thomas Hennessey, died at age 70.

According to his Legacy.com obituary, Hennessey passed on July 22 after a battle with cancer. He was born February 15, 1936 in Boston, and attended Brookline High School, where he was an All-state football player before graduating to the College of the Holy Cross in 1959.

Per the Brookline High Alumni association says he was added to the High School's Hall of Fame in 1994. 

A statement from Holy Cross College describes him as a "standout quarterback," and adds that he won the 1963 Holy Cross Crusader of the Year award. After graduation, he taught at a high school in Brighton. 

"Tommy was a great guy," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said, in a statement from the team, "He was a football star in high school and college and I can remember being so proud that he rose to the professional level, playing two seasons with the Patriots. As big of an impact as he made on the field, his greatest contributions came off the field. He was a great mentor to so many kids and really dedicated his life to helping others. We are proud that being a Patriot will forever be a part of Tommy’s legacy. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his many friends."

Kraft and Hennessey were classmates at .

The funeral is at the on Friday morning at 10:10 a.m. There is a funeral mass in , 11:00 a.m. There will be visiting hours in the funeral home later today, July 26, from 4 to 8 p.m.

Hennessey will be interred at Holyhood Cemetery. If you would like to make a donations in his memory, make it to Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Place West.