House 1959-62 (District 60); House 1963-68 (District 63); House 1971-72 (District 63)
Party when first elected: Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus
Counties Served:
St. Louis
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth:
12/23/1923
Birth Place:
Hibbing, Minnesota
Birth County:
St. Louis
Birth Country:
United States
Date of Death:
6/4/2010
Gender:
Male
Religion:
Catholic
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected):
Hibbing
Occupation (when first elected):
Attorney, Firm of Fena and Nasi
EDUCATION
Buhl Grade School; Elementary School;
Assumption Hall Catholic School, Hibbing; Elementary School;
St. Thomas Academy; Secondary; 1 Year
Hibbing High School; Secondary; Graduate, 1941
Notre Dame University; B.A.; Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC), 1943
Notre Dame University; LL.B.; 1952
OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE
Municipal Attorney:
Iron Range Cities, Minnesota;
19?? to 19??
Military:
United States Navy and Marines, 1st Division (World War II, South Atlantic, Pacific Theatre, Ensign, Supply and Gunnery Officer, Lieutenant, Wounded in Battle, Awarded the Purple Heart);
02/14/1943 to 12/25/1945
County Attorney:
St. Louis County, Minnesota (Assistant County Attorney);
197? to 197?
Judge:
Minnesota Tax Court (Appointed by Governor Rudy Perpich);
07/01/1977 to 01/31/1981
[Appointed]
State Board/Commission/Council:
Minnesota School of the Arts Board (Founding Member);
1985 to 19??
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse:
Kathleen Marie Kaim
Children:
Eleven children: Lynn, Susan, Sally, Margaret, Mary Ann, and Marianna (daughters); James, Peter (As a protest, on October 5, 1984 he punched and broke a state Capitol window in Governor Rudy Perpich's office), Christopher "Chris", Bartholomew, and Andrew Rinaldo (sons)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
GENERAL NOTES
He was of Italian ancestry.
He moved to Hibbing, Minnesota around 1931.
Jack Richard Fena was part of a contested election with Bernard "Barney" Bischoff in the 1968 election. Bernard J. Bischoff was seated and took the oath of office on the first day of session. On February 7, 1969 the Minnesota House of Representatives determined that he was not legally elected. They declared the seat vacant and a special election was held. Bernard J. Bischoff won the special election.
He was a "member of the new Democratic Farmer-Labor Party." (Duluth News Tribune, June 6, 2010)
He was reprimanded and assessed $500.00 in costs by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 1982. He had failed to close his private law practice in a timely fashion after becoming a Judge.
He was a Cessna 150 pilot.
He was a member of the Disabled American Veterans.
He suffered a stroke around 1999. He died at the Benedictine Health Center in Duluth, Minnesota. His funeral was held at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Hibbing, Minnesota. He was buried in Chisholm Cemetery in Chisholm, Minnesota.
He was a member of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Hibbing, Minnesota.
Religion provided by his obituary.