Jim Hensley
| Jim Hensley | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
James Willis Hensley April 12, 1920 San Antonio, Texas |
| Died | June 21, 2000 (aged 80) Phoenix, Arizona |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | One of Arizona's richest men; Father-in-law of U.S. Senator and presidential candidate John McCain |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Jeanne Parks (≈1937-1945) Marguerite "Smitty" Johnson Hensley (1945-2000) |
| Children | Kathleen Hensley (b. 1943) Cindy Lou Hensley (b. 1954) |
James Willis "Jim" Hensley (April 12, 1920 – June 21, 2000) was an American businessman in the beer industry.
Hensley was born in Texas and moved to Arizona during his youth. He was a bombardier on B-17 Flying Fortresses during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war he was convicted of illegal distribution of liquor and was also involved in a racetrack operation that was investigated by authorities.
He founded Hensley & Co. in 1955. Headquartered in Phoenix, it grew to be one of the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributorships in the nation. One of Arizona's richest men at the time of his death, Hensley was the father of Cindy Hensley McCain and the father-in-law of United States Senator and 2000 and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain.
Hensley was born in San Antonio, Texas to Jessie and James L. Hensley. The family was poor and his father was an alcoholic. They lived in the South until moving to Arizona; Hensley graduated from Phoenix Union High School in 1936. He married Mary Jeanne Parks, his high school sweetheart, around 1937, and worked as a paper salesman.
Hensley and his older brother, Eugene, first began working in the liquor distribution business before World War II, being in the employ of Kemper Marley, Sr., an Arizona rancher who had become wealthy in that business in Phoenix and Tucson following the end of Prohibition. The brothers started the United Liquor Co. in Phoenix and the United Distribution Co. in Tucson.
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