Updated at 10:56 a.m. July 23, 2018 to include funeral service time and location.

Updated at 9:27 a.m. August 3, 2018 to correct date of death.

Doug Hennes, vice president for government relations at St. Thomas since 1997, died unexpectedly early Thursday morning in his home in Mendota Heights. He was 63.

President Julie Sullivan confirmed the news of Hennes’ death in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

“Doug was a passionate and loyal Tommie and a wonderful friend to many in the community,” Sullivan’s statement read. “Like many of you, I am heartbroken today.”

A burial mass will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 24 at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas.

No cause of death has been released at this point, and Hennes’ death came as a surprise. A report by the Pioneer Press quotes Sullivan saying Hennes was at work Wednesday and was “feeling fine.”

Hennes attended St. Thomas from 1973 to 1977 and graduated with a degree in journalism. He worked at the Pioneer Press for 14 years as both a reporter and editor. He was a part of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams, for a farm family series in 1985 and an AIDS report in 1987.

After his time with the Pioneer Press, Hennes returned to St. Thomas as executive director of university relations in 1990 before being promoted to university and government relations vice president in 1997.

In addition to his work at the Pioneer Press and St. Thomas, Hennes wrote a biography on Ignatius Aloysius O’Shaughnessy, the namesake for many of the buildings at St. Thomas and St. Catherine, in 2014. He also wrote game recaps and feature stories for the Tommie Sports website.

A gathering for prayers was held Thursday afternoon and a community remembrance is scheduled for 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the Hearth Room in the Anderson Student Center. A burial mass at the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas is being planned for early next week.

Noah Brown can be reached at brow7736@stthomas.edu.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.