Henry Hempe

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(Arnold) Henry Hempe died Monday, January 17, 2022 at age 83 in Madison, Wisconsin. He was born March 16, 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Arnold Herman and Marcia (Fleer) Hempe.He graduated from Milwaukee University School in 1956, and received his bachelor’s degree in 1962 and his J.D. degree in 1965 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.He was a member of Psi Upsilon fraternity. While in college and law school he was a member of the Marine Corps Reserves, and from which he received an honorable discharge.

In June 1965 he married Cornelia Macy Gordon of Pittsford, NY.  They had two children, Andrew and Amy.

After law school they moved to first Janesville and then Beloit, where Henry first worked as an assistant district attorney and later as Rock County Corporation Counsel.He entered the private practice of law first with the firm of Hempe and Daniel, and later with the firm of Hempe, Hunsader and Schulz.

In 1987 he became Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Employment Relations, and after a year became a commissioner with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, serving as chair for a number of years.Following retirement from state service he had his own arbitration business for many years.

In Beloit he served on the Beloit School Board 1980-1986, and became vice chair and later chairman.He was a member of the Janesville Rotary Club, and served on the boards of the Sinnissippi Council of Boy Scouts and the Rock County Humane Society.He was also a member of the Izzak Walton League.

He was an avid hunter and fisherman and loved the north woods.He was a member of the Capitol City Musky Club, and served as parliamentarian of the national Musky’s Inc.During the 1970’s he was a licensed fishing guide.

He was a fifteen year member of the Downtown of Madison Kiwanis Club.

Two of his favorite achievements that he never tired of mentioning were that he ran with the bulls in Pamplona at age 67, and in 2005 he won the Sportsman’s division of the World Championship Musky Tournament with a 45 inch musky.

He is survived by his wife Cornelia (Corky) of 56 years; son Andrew (Terry Herblin) and granddaughter Macy Elizabeth Hempe of Houston, and daughter Amy of Denver.He is further survived by his nephews Mark Spankus (Aleisha Gurrie) and John (Carol) Spankus, and niece Martha Spankus.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister Nancy Spankus.

There will be a visitation on Monday, January 24 from 4:00 to 7:00 at Cress Funeral Home on Speedway in Madison. There will be a service on Tuesday, January 25 at 11:00 am at the funeral home. There will be a private burial at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

The family would like to thank Oak Park Place-Nakoma, where Henry spent the last two and a half years of his life, and the nurses and social workers of Agrace Hospice.