Eloise Wilkins Tenney

Eloise Wilkins Tenney of Summit, formerly of Grenada, Mississippi, died at her home, August 29, 2011, surrounded by her family. Mrs. Tenney was 97 years old. Born on February 17, 1914, she was the third of four daughters of Eloise Lamkin and William Patton Wilkins. She grew up in the home of her grandfather, Thomas Peete Lamkin, who she lovingly called Poppa. Mrs. Tenney was preceded in death by her grandfather, parents and her sisters, Helen Salmon, Patty Kavanaugh and Elizabeth DeMoville. Mrs. Tenney attended the University of Mississippi in the 1930s and joined the Chi Omega Fraternity. Seeking adventure, she left Ole Miss and became a student at the University of Illinois from which she graduated in 1937. She moved to Chicago to be near her oldest sister and worked at Carson Pirie Scott & Company, an experience she remembered fondly her entire life. With the outbreak of World War II, Mrs. Tenney returned to Grenada and volunteered at the nearby military base, Camp McCain. There she met and married Arthur Merrill Tenney. She and Colonel Tenney lived in many places, ultimately ending their tour of duty in Washington with her husband's service at the Pentagon. After Colonel Tenney died at the age of 47, leaving his wife with three young daughters, Mrs. Tenney returned to Grenada to live with her mother. Later that same year, Mrs. Tenney's mother died leaving her the family home, Poppa's house, on Margin Street in Grenada. There she reared her children and with dogged determination lived a wonderful life. As a young widow, Mrs. Tenney asked her neighbor, the local school superintendent, for a job and her thirty some odd years of teaching began. She taught in the Grenada County School System, the Grenada City School System and at Kirk Academy. Whether she taught them in the fourth, fifth or sixth grade, scores of her students remember her as 'a hard teacher but the best one I ever had.' In the mid-1960s she returned to Ole Miss to earn her Master's degree, setting an example of excellence in education for her children and the children she taught. After her retirement from teaching Mrs. Tenney became active in the Colonial Dames, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the local Chi Omega Alumnae activities. She was also appointed by Governor William Winter to serve on the State Board of Nursing. Bridge games with her sisters were a large part of her early years and she returned to that passion, playing regularly until she was in her 90s. Mrs. Tenney was a lifelong Episcopalian and was the first female to be elected to the Vestry of All Saints Episcopal Church in Grenada, her home church. In 2003, when she decided to move to Summit, she was honored with a celebratory service and luncheon to mark the significance of her life within that church. Mrs. Tenney is survived by three daughters and one son-in-law, Susan and Wayne Dowdy of McComb, Eloise 'Weegie' Harris, and Merrill Tenney McKewen, both of Jackson. six grandchildren and spouses: Dunbar and Alister Watt, Charles and Bethany Dowdy, Eloise and David Cottrell, Eloise and Walter May, Thomas and Madelyn Harris, Erin McKewen and Augusta McKewen. She is also survived by eleven great-grandchildren, Adam and Elliot Watt, Wayne, Beth, Jacks and Wilkins Dowdy, Arthur and John Rhodes Cottrell, Ella May, Ryals and Thacker Harris, all of whom adored their Gaga. Friends are invited to a Celebration of Gaga's Life in McComb at the home of Susan and Wayne Dowdy on Tuesday, August 30th from 5PM until 7PM. A funeral service will be held Wednesday at 2PM at her beloved All Saints Episcopal Church in Grenada with a visitation one hour prior. Interment will be in Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: All Saints Episcopal Church, 469 S. Main Street, Grenada, Ms, 38901; Church of the Mediator, P.O. Box 1001, McComb, MS, 39649; Centenary Methodist Church, P.O. Box 712, McComb, MS 39649. The family would like to thank Hospice Compassus and their Mother's caregivers, Mary Fortenberry, Pearl Turner, Annie Dawson, Cynthia Marshall, Kay Marshall, Kathy Gatlin and Majorie Duncan.