Charles Milliken Tenney, Jr., “Mike”
Charles Milliken Tenney, Jr. was cleared for final takeoff on March 1, 2017. He was 90. Born in Springfield, MA,Mike was the son of the late Charles and Margaret BeggTenney. He spent his formative years in Longmeadow, MAand graduated from the Taft School and Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. For two years, he proudly served in the US Navy as an Aviation Cadet flying Stearman airplanes. He was Founder of Tenney Associates, a sole proprietorship that provided consulting services to the utilities industry. He retired at 86.
Mike married Lederle Stearns “Lee” in 1954 and settled in Duxbury, MA where they raised four children. He was an active community volunteer; Mike was a Selectman, Assessor, member of the Finance Committee, the By-Law Committee, the Charter Commission, the Waterfront Advisory Committee, the Board of Appeals, the Library Study & Advisory Committee and the Housing Authority. Mike served as a trustee of the Partridge Academy Scholarship Fund and was on the Republican Town Committee. He was a member of the Pilgrim Church, the Duxbury Ex-NAVO’s, the Duxbury Wharf Rats and the Duxbury Yacht Club. He is most well known as the founder of the Duxbury Youth Hockey program which he started in 1969. He served as President, Treasurer and coach of countless boys’ and girls’ teams for 20 years. In 2012, Mike was inducted into the Massachusetts Hockey Hall of Fame.
An avid season-ticket holder of the Bruins, he was a member of the Boston Madison Square Garden Club. One of his best memories is being in the old Garden on Mother’s Day 1970, when Bobby Orr scored his famous goal to win the Stanley Cup.
Besides his passion for community service and hockey, his most beloved pastime was flying his PT-17 Stearmanairplane. This blue and gold biplane brought joy to many. It had a very distinguished “putt-putt” sound as he was “burning holes in the sky”, gracefully maneuvering it over Duxbury Bay. At age 70, he completed a solo round trip flight to Osh Kosh, WI to attend the Osh Kosh Fly-In. Mike continued to fly into his mid-80s.
In recent years nothing brought Mike more pleasure than following his grandchildren’s high school and college activities. In his classic understated manner, he was fiercely proud of their work ethic, talent and sportsmanship.
A 63 year resident of Duxbury MA, he is survived by the love of his life, Lederle “Lee” Stearns Tenney, four children and 13 grandchildren; son Stephen Tenney and wife Beth, of Marblehead and their children, Christopher Snow, Tori Snow Cruice, Sarah and Sam Tenney, daughter Lederle Tenney and husband Bill Motzer of Mt. Pleasant, SC., and their children, Charlie, Tom and Caroline Motzer, daughter Lauren Herter and husband David of Topsfield, and their children, Alexandra Herter Logan, Jim, Katie and Pam Herter, and daughter Sarah McGuire and husband Steve of Littleton, CO, and their children Kevin and Elizabeth McGuire. He was predeceased by his sister, Margaret Tenney Gunn of Longmeadow.
A Memorial Service will be held at Pilgrim Church in Duxbury on May 13, 2017 at 11AM. There will be a reception afterwards. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to either; Duxbury Youth Hockey, 282 St. George St., #210, Duxbury, MA 02332 or the Wounded Warrior Project at support.woundedwarriorproject.org/donate.