Jefferson Thomas Hennessy Sr.[1] (October 27, 1929 – March 24, 2015) was trampoline coach and physical educator.
He was an Associate Professor of Physical Education at University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1959 to 1986, served as the director of the University’s gymnastics and trampoline programs and he was the United States trampolining coach from 1964 to 1980.
Hennessy was born in Ancón, Panama, where he lived with his family until the age of 12, before they moved to Monroe, Louisiana.
He was also the U.S. team coach for the Ennia Gold Cup Championships in the Netherlands in 1981, as well as tours of South Africa in 1969, 1974, 1979, and 1981; the Soviet Union in 1974 (first U.S. team to complete in the Soviet Union) and 1977; and Germany in 1974.
Hennessy died on March 24, 2015, from a lengthy undisclosed illness.