John H. Hensley

John Henry Hensley, 80, of North Robinson, went to be with the Lord, following his death at Avita Health System in Bucyrus on Wednesday, November 20, 2019 from an extended illness.



He was born May 9, 1939 in Harlan County, Kentucky to the late Stanley and Lilly Jane (Brown) Hensley.



John came to Bucyrus in 1957 and worked at various places, but realizing cars were a major interest, he decided to make his hobby, his livelihood. John owned and operated both the Humble and Sunoco service stations and eventually founded John’s Auto Clinic caring for the automotive needs of many.



John was married for 20 years to Elizabeth Ginter with whom he had three children, Rebecca Cramer of Bucyrus, Retha Hensley of North Robinson and Curtis Dean Hensley who preceded him in death during infancy. In 1979, he married the love of his life, Nancy Auck and always referred to her as “his bride”. Nancy survives and John was blessed to have gained three more children, Irene Roski of Mt. Gilead, Thomas Metz of Caspian, Michigan and Lonnie Metz who preceded him in death. John loved time spent with his grandchildren and they include, Zachary (Rachael Spears) Roski, Jessica (Jason) Moss, Loni (Allison) Alejandro, Keith (Ashley) Metz, Jonathon (Tiffany Rawlins) Cramer, Thomas (Crystal) Metz, Nathan Roski, Jacob Metz and Tristan Cross; great grandchildren, Sadie, Camille, Emma, Jacob, Aiden, Samantha, Eli, Kellan, Jayden, Kaleb, Sophie and Keely. John is survived by one brother, Kenneth Hensley, whom he was close with and four sisters. He was preceded in death by one grandson, Jason Cramer and three brothers.



Early into John’s first marriage, he felt Christ calling him into the ministry, so he became a pastor. He loved teaching God’s word to his family and instilled strong life lessons in them. He maintained working on and selling cars and in the early 1990s he felt Christ wanted to use him a different way. John and Nancy opened God’s House of Prayer in Bucyrus and as the congregation grew, John moved the church to Loss Creek and pastored there until his health no longer allowed.



John knew a lot of people and everything he did in life was to make others happy. He was proud of where he came from and his heritage before him. He played Santa Clause at various locations including area nursing homes. He cherished time spent with his family, especially when they camped at October Hill in Loudonville and there was always good campfire burning. For relaxation, he could be found sitting on his porch, rocking in the rocker with a toothpick in his mouth, just taking in what God created.



Friends may call from 1-3 and 5-7pm Sunday, November 24 at Wise Funeral Service, where his funeral will be held at 11:00am Monday with Bishop Ted Thomas officiating. Burial will follow in Oakwood Cemetery.



Whenever asked what he wanted for his birthday, John always said, “I want you to give a gift in my name to, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital”, so it would be fitting that any gifts be made payable to that organization and they will be accepted through the funeral home.