Lewis Noble Tenney Sr.

Born December 3, 1912 - Alpine, Arizona
Died March 16, 2000 - Safford, Arizona

At the prompting of other association members I am providing this tribute and memorial to a man the Tenney family can be proud to claim.  

Lewis Noble Tenney, Sr. was my grandfather.  He deserves credit and recognition from the Tenney Family Association because without him, it is very likely that this website and even the growth the Association has enjoyed this year would not have occurred at the time it did.  More importantly, he deserves credit for teaching his family the importance of family and heritage, honoring the Tenney name, learning about our ancestors and recording our histories.

Lewis made contact with the Tenney Family Association a few years ago and was extremely excited.  He felt a strong importance to become involved and support the association.  In 1998, I accompanied my grandfather and his daughter Sylvia to the Tenney Family Association meeting held  in Sturbridge Massachusetts.  He had recently completed his book "Our Tenney Family Heritage: The Warren Reed Tenney Legacy".  He felt it important to bring copies to the association and to leave a copy at the Tenney Memorial Library in Newbury Vermont which we did.  We had a marvelous trip that I know I will never forget.  We visited towns and cities where our ancestors had lived and visited the grave sites of those we could find.  We also visited the birth place of Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet,  in Sharon Vermont (not far from Newbury).  My grandfather talked of this trip and how wonderful it was to meet our relatives in the East.  He made eternal friendships with some.  He told me this was to be his last trip--it was.  

Because of this trip and my grandfather's urge to support the association, he nominated me as an officer.  Before I knew what was happening, I had been voted in.  Shortly thereafter, work began on the Tenney Family Association web site.  After seeing the web site, my grandfather couldn't stop talking about the benefits that would come from it.  

He was in contact with Marjorie Shane, the Tenney Memorial Library Librarian.  After his passing, Ms. Shane wrote to me and said, "His interest in having a genealogical center here in the library has spurred us on and we will have one...  We are planning to put a plaque up in his memory after the addition is complete (in the research area)."   

My grandfather was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints also known as the Mormon Church.  One of my grandfather's greatest desires was to gather those of his family who were worthy at the Arizona Temple shortly after the turn of the century.  This goal was realized as almost 50 of his descendants (including their spouses) met for this dream of his on January 15 of this year.  

We visited my grandfather late February and he had just started complaining of pain.  Within a short period of time he knew his time was short.  It was a treasure and a blessing for nearly all of his 11 children, 68 grandchildren and 92 great-grandchildren to spend time with him before he left us.  On March 16, 2000 he passed from this life.

Thanks grandpa for the example you were, the heritage you passed on to me and things you taught me to be important.

Greg Hancock

This section contains a few excerpts of tributes from some of his children given at his funeral services.  

"Dad's my hero.  He rose above all difficulties that occurred in his life.  He never quit and continually pursued worthwhile projects and especially those he felt the Lord would have him do.  I have always felt blessed to be a daughter of Lewis Noble Tenney, Sr.  Thank you daddy for teaching us truth & righteousness by word and example."

-- Kem Joanna Tenney MacNeille, Daughter

"I look at the good qualities that I have inherited from you and my mother and I know that my Father in Heaven could not have put me in a better home...  Thank you dad, for being my father, and thank you for being the grandfather and a father figure to my children and the great grandfather  to their children.  My posterity could not ask for a better heritage."

-- Diana Tenney, Daughter

"He had a true love for the Savior and knew personally of that atoning sacrifice.  I am grateful for the legacy of great love, faith and testimony he left for me his daughter, for all his family, for his posterity."

-- Armeda Tenney Stapley, Daughter

"Commitment guided him.  It didn't matter-- Responsibilities from the office, church or family, he couldn't rest until it was completed.  Not burdened by perfectionism, he embraced the concept that 'good enough' is the enemy of 'best'.  Thank you dad, for teaching me by example with great love."

-- Kathryn Tenney Hancock, Daughter

"As all daughters do, I love my father deeply.  I think he was the most handsome man in the world.  Very early on--I recognized his tremendous work ethic!  It was exceptional.  He was diligent and dedicated in every task he tackled. "

-- Linda S. Turley-Hansen, Daughter

"...he was a man who cast a giant shadow, loved his family, gave more than he received and was a wonderful educator. He provided many historical insights, with a viewpoint that highlighted and uplifted families. The restoration between the Eastern and Western Tenney branches is no small accomplishment, either. As time goes on, the significance of that unification will become more and more apparent."

-- Della Tenney, Tenney Family Association Editor

Lewis Noble Tenney, Sr.
Last words of counsel to his posterity
Sunday, March 12, 2000

"Put the gospel first in your lives and keep on moving forward.  Remember service and helping others.  Remember the service of our Savior.  Gather your families around - teach your children. Teach them to be kind to their friends and to each other.  Teach your children the little things - It's the little things that are important.  I wish I had the strength to say how I feel about you - I'm proud of all the good things you do!"

Lewis Noble Tenney, Sr. was excited about the the expansion on the Tenney Memorial Library and urged his family members to contribute what they could.  Because of his urging to add a genealogy section to the library and his contributions, I would encourage anyone who felt so inclined to make a donation to the library in his memory.

Donations can be sent to the library building fund:

Tenney Memorial Library
P.O. Box 85
Newbury, VT 05051

The book "Our Tenney Family Heritage: The Warren Reed Tenney Legacy", compiled by Lewis Noble Tenney, Sr. is available from the association orders page.  In Lewis' own words from the title page, he describes the book as "A brief review of events and experiences in early Mormon pioneering in the lives of this Tenney family who joined and followed--From New York, to Ohio, to Missouri, to Illinois, to Utah, and Arizona (1834-1889)".