Rachel Tennery

Rachel Bohannon (Tennery) was born April 6, 1909, of American parents in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For 10 years she and her parents lived on their wheat ranch 200 miles east of Calgary with winters in California and Illinois.

When Rachel was ready for high school the family moved back to Illinois and in 1929 she graduated from Knox College. In 1930 she married James Tennery. They lived in Downers Grove, Ill., for 25 years. She was active in D.A.R., Girl Scouts, A.A.U.W., Garden Club, PTA and St. Andrews Episcopal Church. For six years during WWII she was virtually a single mother raising two boys with her husband away fighting the war in Europe. She was in the first group of Army dependents to go to Germany after the war.

After her husband's death in 1969 Rachel moved to Bradenton, Fla., where she lived for 27 years. For the last 15 years she has made her home with her son and his wife in Hayden. She was very proud she still had all her own teeth. She kept her mind active by working the Coeur d’Alene Press crossword puzzle each morning; working with the Hayden Senior Center playing dominoes and her real passion, playing Bridge at least twice a week. She loved mystery books and was one of our wonderful library’s best customers. She was a five-time cancer survivor and credited her endurance to regular doctor visits and early detection and treatment. 

She is survived by two sons: Rae and wife Rita who live in Mooresville, Ind., and younger son Michael and wife Barbara residents of Hayden. She has eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 27, 2010, at Faith Presbyterian Church on Maple in Hayden. A luncheon at the church will follow the service. Interment will be in Clarendon Hills Cemetery, Hinsdale, Ill., at a private family ceremony.

Rachel requested that donations, in lieu of flowers, be made to the “Hayden Senior Gem Memorial Fund,” P.O. Box 156, Hayden, ID 83835.