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Mad About Guitars

Edward R. Hennessy Jr. tried baseball and hockey and all the other sports his dad loved, but as a little boy he told his father that sports simply did not interest him. Then in second grade he found his true love: music. He took up the clarinet first, then the saxophone and later keyboards, bass drum and guitar.

At Belmont High School in Massachusetts and at Harvard, where he graduated cum laude in 1988, he played in the marching bands. He wrote part of the 1989 Hasty Pudding Club musical-comedy show at Harvard. At the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where he studied information science, he arranged musical numbers and even conducted the orchestra.

"Ted was mad about screaming guitars," recalled Melanie Salisbury, his wife of 10 years. "The Ramones was his favorite and Spinal Tap a close second. He recorded a lot of his own music."

At family gatherings he would often slip away to the piano with his niece and nephew.

"He would teach them basic notes and the fundamentals of playing the piano," said his brother-in-law, Jim Kelleher.

Mr. Hennessy, 35, father of two, was on his way to Los Angeles on American Airlines Flight 11 on Sept. 11 to consult on a distribution system for AOL Time Warner's Elektra records.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 25, 2001.

E. Hennessy Jr.,

a consultant; 35

By Globe Staff, 9/21/2001

Edward R. Hennessy Jr. of Belmont, a partner and principal with Emergence Consulting of Lincoln, died Sept. 11 on American Airlines Flight 11 in New York City. He was 35.

Born in Winchester, Mr. Hennessy graduated from Belmont High School in 1984. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1988. He received his master's degree in management from Northwestern University in 1993 and was honored as the outstanding student in information management.

Mr. Hennessy was a talented musician and played the guitar, keyboards, clarinet, and the saxophone. While at Harvard, he was a member of the pit orchestra with the 1989 Hasty Pudding Show, "Whiskey Business." At Northwestern, he wrote part of the annual "Special K" variety shows, arranged musical numbers, and conducted the orchestra.

Before coming to Emergence Consulting, Mr. Hennessy worked as a management consultant with Corporate Decisions Inc. and Renaissance Solutions. He also worked in customer service and training for InScribe Inc., a computerized calligraphy company.

Mr. Hennessy was a member of the First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist.

Mr. Hennessy leaves his wife of 10 years, Melanie Salisbury; a daughter, Rachel; a son, Matthew; his parents, Edward R. Sr. and Geraldine Lavoie Hennessy, all of Belmont; and two sisters, Susan Kelleher of Belmont and Kathleen Bird of Hingham.

A memorial service was held Monday in Belmont.

Editorial Obituary published in THE BOSTON GLOBE on September 21, 2001.