In 1939, Hench started as a story artist in the animation department working in areas including backgrounds, layout and art direction, effects animation and special effects. Hench was respected by Walt Disney as one of the studio’s most gifted artists and worked him and Salvador Dalí on the animated short Destino, a project which began in 1945 and not completed until 2003.

Afterwards, he moved to WED Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering). In 1954, Hench was in the studio’s live action department, as lead developer of the hydraulic giant squid in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The film won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects in 1954. Hench was also Disney’s official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse, painting the company’s portraits for Mickey’s 25th, 50th, 60th, 70th, and 75th birthdays.

One of Hench’s most recognizable work is his design for the Olympic Torch for the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley, California, which subsequent torches have been based on. The design is modeled after the torches of the 1948 and 1956 Olympiads. In 1990, he received the Disney Legend award, the company’s highest honor, presented by then-CEO Michael Eisner. Hench remained at Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California until 2004.

Hench died of heart failure in February 2004 after a brief hospitalization in Burbank, California. His name tag and 65-year service award are displayed in the Imagineering building lobby, with tributes by Imagineers lining its hallways. He is survived by his wife, Lowry.