Hentzen shaped Wichita politics, development

Many have held public office in Sedgwick County in the last quarter of a century, but few can be said to have done more to shape Wichita-area development and politics than Bernard A. “Bud” Hentzen, who died Wednesday at age 83.

Mr. Hentzen, who started a building contracting company in Wichita in 1963, served two four-year terms on the County Commission in the 1980s and 1990s and the last 13 years on the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.

In politics, he helped lead the effort to build and finance a conservative Republican Party that has become the dominant political force in south-central Kansas. He served as chairman of the county GOP in the late 1990s and is credited with starting and maintaining the capital fund that pays expenses of the local party.

In politics, “the first words out of his mouth were ‘I’m pro-life,’ ” said Mr. Hentzen’s son, Bernie, now the president of the business his father started.

“As far back as I can remember, he’s been a big part of Republican Party politics in Sedgwick County,” he said. “I can’t imagine the number of candidates who sought his advice.”

County Commissioner Richard Ranzau was one of them. He said he got to know Mr. Hentzen when he decided to run for the commission.

But while politics was a passion, Mr. Hentzen’s friends say that family came first.

“Of all the things he liked to talk about, he was most proud of his family,” Ranzau said.

Born Jan. 2, 1928, in Greenbush, Mr. Hentzen was the sixth of 14 children of Raymond and Ora Hentzen.

With his wife of 62 years, Joanne, he had 10 children, nine of whom survive; his grandchildren and great-grandchildren total 52.

But Mr. Hentzen’s interests were not confined to Sedgwick County. With his brother Bob, he was active in relief and development work in Central America through a charity they co-founded called the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging.

“Family and the family business were the first passion in his life,” Bernie Hentzen said of his father. “Then the foundation. Then he got into politics.”

Mr. Hentzen was not shy about sharing his views, his son said.

“If he thought that you were wrong, he’d tell you,” Bernie Hentzen said.

His son said Mr. Hentzen strongly urged relatives to join him in conservative voting.

“We’ve got about 100 votes in the family,” Bernie Hentzen said.

After two unsuccessful runs for the state Legislature, Mr. Hentzen was elected to the County Commission in 1984, the same year voters expanded the commission from three to five members.

His tenure on the board was a foreshadowing of issues that are at the front of today’s political battlefield.

In addition to his strong opposition to abortion, Mr. Hentzen advocated for limited government, light regulation of business, low taxes and minimal government debt.

He supported spending on capital improvements, law enforcement and programs for those he considered the most in need, including elderly people, homeless people and people with physical and mental disabilities.

Mr. Hentzen’s commission career ended with the 1992 election, when he lost his seat in the Republican primary to former Commissioner Tom Winters.

Commissioner Karl Peterjohn, the current occupant of the office once held by Mr. Hentzen, said he recalled that his predecessor would often announce the birth of a new grandchild or great-grandchild during the “commissioner comment” portion of the meetings.

“The joke around the courthouse was this was a weekly event in the Hentzen family,” Peterjohn said.

In recent years, Mr. Hentzen was a fixture in the Republican Pachyderm Club, which honored him briefly on Friday and is planning a larger tribute at its meeting next week.

John Todd, the club’s vice president, said he referred to Mr. Hentzen as “the Republican emeritus,” and club president John Stevens said Mr. Hentzen was a valued contributor to the political discourse.

“Words of wisdom, we called it,” Stevens said. “Usually, he had the right perspective on things.”

Visitation with the family is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday, with Rosary to follow at 7 p.m. at St. Jude Catholic Church.

A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, also at St. Jude, followed by a graveside service at St. Mary Aleppo Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorial donations to the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, P.O. Box 805105, Kansas City, MO 64180; and St. Jude Catholic Church Building Fund, 3030 Amidon, Wichita, 67204.

This story was originally published December 2, 2011 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Hentzen shaped Wichita politics, development."