Pamela Anne Denney

Memphis - May 11, 1953 - April 17, 2025

Pamela Anne Denney passed away peacefully on April 17, 2025, in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 71.

A celebrated journalist and passionate educator, Pamela left an indelible mark on the cultural and academic life of Memphis. As the longtime Food Editor of Memphis Magazine, she brought the city's culinary landscape to life through her beloved column, "Memphis Stew." With a distinctive blend of insight and elegance, she highlighted the stories of chefs, artisans, and home cooks, helping to shape and preserve the rich food culture of the region.

Pamela extended her love for storytelling into the classroom as a professor at the University of Memphis. There, she created and taught the university's first course in food writing-an innovative contribution that inspired generations of journalism students. Her mentorship and dedication to education left a lasting impression on all who had the privilege to learn from her.

Pam published hundreds of articles in local, regional and national magazines, weeklies and newspapers. She authored "Food Lovers' Guide To Memphis: The Best Restaurants, Markets & Local Culinary Offerings" (Globe Pequot Press, 2012), which profiles more than 200 eateries and markets in Memphis and nearby towns.

She is remembered with the deepest love by her husband, Anthony A. "Tony" Yoken (TY), and their daughter, Anna Rose Yoken of Los Angeles, California. She is also remembered by her twin sister, Margaret A. "Peg" Denney of Santa Fe, New Mexico; brother-in-law Kenneth Payson; sister-in-law Hollyce Yoken of Lovere, Italy; brother-in-law David Yoken and his wife Tarja of Naantali, Finland; nieces Lia Woertendyke and her partner Anna Lehmann, Nola Abrams and her spouse Mere, Hannah Yoken and her husband Rory Edwardson; nephews Max Woertendyke and his wife Maria Simone, and Wade Payson-Denney.

Pamela graduated from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. In addition to her teaching and award winning journalism work in Memphis, Los Angeles and Virginia, Pam was deeply committed to environmental stewardship. She was a certified Memphis Area Master Gardener and an arborist with the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. Her dedication was honored through TUFC certification for "Pamela Denney's Fair Meadow Arboretum," a living testament to her love for nature.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Pamela's memory to Scholarships in Journalism at the University of Memphis.

Her legacy lives on through every story she shared and every garden she grew.