Career
Prior to his service on the court, he served as mayor of Gastonia from 1929 to 1937. In 1940, Denny managed the successful gubernatorial campaign of J. Melville Broughton and then served as chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. In 1967, the retired chief justice chaired a state constitutional study commission, the work of which eventually led to the new North Carolina Constitution of 1971.
Denny was a longtime supporter of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where a building was named in his honor.