Richard Edward Tenney

September 13, 1921 – June 7, 2010

Richard Edward Tenney, our dad, was born in Spokane on September 13, 1921. He passed away suddenly June 7, at his home on Bainbridge Island, possibly of heart failure. Nearly 89 years old, he was independent, active and clear-minded; he’d shopped for groceries June 4, and made his own breakfast the morning of June 7.

Richard (“Dick”) grew up in Spokane (Franklin Elementary), Seattle (Queen Anne High), and Yakima (Yakima High, Yakima Valley Junior College), excelling in both academics and athletics. He loved many sports, though basketball may have been his favorite. He played center on the championship 1941Yakima Valley Junior College basketball team, which was later inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame. After retirement, much to his delight, Richard played on the Walnut Creek Senior Softball team (Creekers), and then on the Bainbridge Island Senior Softball team, where he was still one of their main pitchers at the age of 86. He had a phenomenal memory for sports history and statistics.

Richard also had a keen understanding of and remarkable memory for history, geography, politics, economics, and science and was, throughout his life, an avid reader in each of those disciplines. He was devoted to the ideal of individual liberty and supported organizations such as the Mises Institute, the Institute for Justice, and the Heritage Foundation. On his desk he kept copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

In 1941, Richard was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy. His class of ’45 was accelerated because of World War II. From August 1944 to October 1945 Richard served in the South Pacific as a gunnery officer aboard the heavy cruiser U.S.S. Chester, and was involved in action at Iwo Jima and other places.

In November 1946, Richard married Elizabeth Mackintosh in Yakima. They were married 55 years until her death in 2002. They lived in Schenectady, New York, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Richard worked as an electrical engineer for General Electric, and then in Spokane, Washington and Walnut Creek, California, where he worked for Kaiser Aluminum as an industrial engineer. Richard and Betty retired to Bainbridge Island in 1996.

Richard was also pre-deceased by his parents, Ida and Robert Tenney, and his brother, Robert Tenney, all of Yakima. He is survived by his three children, a daughter-in-law, five grandchildren, one great-grandchild, a sister-in-law and her family.

Arrangements are through Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island. A private memorial will be held at Mt. Rainier. In December the family will hold a service at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent. Dad would appreciate memorial donations to the Salvation Army. Please sign the online Guest Book for the family at: www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.

TRIBUTE Paid Notice