Former Jasper County Presiding Commissioner, auctioneer, Danny Hensley dies

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Former Jasper County presiding commissioner, auctioneer and land developer Danny Hensley died Thursday afternoon after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, according to his family.

He was 84.

Stephanie Hensley, his wife, said Danny Hensley had been out of the public eye for about eight years, but before that, he had been in the middle of many things.

"He was the hardest working man I knew," Stephanie Hensley said. "He started out as a farmer and then he got into making several housing additions. He was involved in creating the Hidden Acres and Hideaway Acres on Fir Road west of Carthage."

Brent Hensley said his dad was a self-taught auctioneer, something he learned in his days running the National Livestock Commission at the Joplin Stockyards when it was located just west of Newman and Range Line roads on the north side of Joplin.

"Dad could still auctioneer even up to recently," Brent Hensley said. "He and Jack Gates and George Becker owned White Oak Auctions for about 30 years. He did a lot of benefit auctions for the Jasper County Youth Fair and other groups. He donated a lot of his time for that. When he and Stephanie decided to downsize and move into town in 2024, they auctioned off a lot of their stuff and the auctioneer let Dad handle a little bit of the auction. He wasn't quite as good as he used to be, but he could still do it."

Danny Hensley ran for Eastern District Jasper County commissioner in 1983, defeating a longtime incumbent, and then was appointed presiding commissioner before the 1985 election, when he ran for the office and won.

He served as presiding commissioner until 2002.

"Roads and bridges were his thing," Stephanie Hensley said. "He was able to pass a quarter-cent road and bridge tax in the 1980s or 1990s, and that's why Jasper County has all these paved roads and new bridges today."

Danny Hensley also helped the artists Lowell Davis and Bob Tommey and others start the Midwest Gathering of Artists in the 1980s.

The funeral service for Danny Hensley is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, at Fairview Christian Church, 2320 S. Grand Ave. in Carthage.

Visitation is slated for 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at Ulmer Funeral Home, 1208 S. Garrison Ave., Carthage.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.