Nathan Boyd Tenney |
| Posted 2008-08-11 by Judy Wight Branson |
| Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Thursday, December 8, 2005 Boyd Tenney, 90, of Prescott, Ariz., born June 22, 1915, in Stanley, Ariz., to Nathan O. and Myrtle M. (Ware) Tenney, died Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005, at the Arizona Pioneer Home in Prescott. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. On Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1001 Sandretto Dr., Prescott. The service will be at 11 a.m. at the same location. Interment will follow at the family plot in the Oddfellows Cemetery, Prescott, Ariz. Arrangements by Hampton Funeral Home, Prescott, Ariz. --------------------------------------- Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, December 10, 2005 Nathan Boyd Tenney, age 90, passed away on Dec. 8, 2005, at the Arizona Pioneers' Home in Prescott. He was born on June 22, 1915, in Stanley, Ariz., a ranching area near Aravaipa Canyon. He was the fifth of 10 children. It is said that he weighed 14 pounds at birth. His mother, Myrtle Mary Wear, was a schoolteacher from Texas, and his father, Nathan Orson Tenney, was a cowboy from New Mexico. Boyd's wife of 57 years, Rachel Teeples Tenney, preceded him in death, passing away in December 1996. He is survived by his wife, Madge Haines Tenney. His eight children are John, Diane Timothy, Carl, Jeanine Brown, Harold, Dennis, Merle, and Ron. His four stepchildren are Debbie Sherwood, Elaine Farr, Allison Dastrup, and Hap Balmes. He is also survived by 40 grandchildren, 15 step-grandchildren, and a combined total of 84 great-grandchildren. Boyd's siblings N.S., Naydene Lane, Ninabelle Parry, and Edythe Bennet preceded him in death. His surviving siblings are Delbert, Opal Alien, Lyman, Eudora Patterson, and Pearl Romney. Boyd spent the first 10 years of his life living with his family on ranches in southern Arizona. In 1925, a severe drought forced his father out of the cattle business. The family moved to Prescott, where his father purchased an Angora goat ranch. The wool from these goats was used in part to make uniforms for U.S. armed forces. As a teenager, Boyd cared for goats in Prescott and spent his summers herding goats in Skull Valley. This job allowed him time to read, and check out books from the Carnegie Library, in Prescott, to keep him busy. He also avidly read Scriptures. Reading introduced him to ideas, which helped form his character, set goals, and shape his life. As a boy Boyd had two newspaper routes. He delivered papers for the Journal-Miner in the morning and for the Prescott Courier after school. Also, during his school lunch hour he raced from Washington Elementary School to stand on the corner of Gurley and Cortez streets to sell newspapers to passers-by. He earned all of his spending money from the time he was a young teenager. Boyd found classes at Washington School to be more challenging than those at the small country schools he had attended in southern Arizona. However, his seventh grade teacher saw in him potential. She asked him to stay after school, where she tutored him in areas where he needed help. From that time on he was an honor student. Boyd attended Prescott High School, graduating in 1934. His favorite subject was Spanish. While he was a student there he was a lineman on the football team. He recalls one game with Jerome, which was then a bustling mining town, where Jerome beat Prescott 40-0. Boyd decided at a young age that he wanted to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he prepared for this by saving money and studying so that he would be well grounded in his religion. Within weeks of his high school graduation he was called to serve in the Spanish American Mission, headquarters in El Paso, Texas. His mission was a pivotal point in his life, a time when he served and taught others and developed leadership skills. Also, there he met his future wife, Rachel, who was also a missionary. After returning home two years later Boyd worked for a grocery store for a while and then bought the ranch near Prescott that his father had owned. This is the home where all of his children were raised. Boyd always wanted to be in business for himself. He worked in a feed store on Gurley Street and later bought it. He later also owned a feed store in Cottonwood. He was in the feed store business for 26 years. His children and several nephews worked there. In 1960, he bought a ranch north of Wickenburg on the Hassayampa River. During the next 45 years, he bought and sold six ranches in Yavapai and Mohave counties. His wife and children spent holidays and weekends on the ranches, always returning to Prescott by Saturday night, in order to attend church on Sunday. These ranches were the places where his large extended family often gathered to work and enjoy family reunions. In 1962, Boyd was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. At that time he was the only Republican member of the House from a rural county. Two years later was elected to the Arizona Senate, where he served 18 years. When he was elected, there were only two Republican members of the Senate. He was the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and had various other committee assignments. His greatest impact on the state was as first vice chairman and then chairman of the Appropriations Committee, posts he held for 16 years. He took seriously his charge to oversee the spending of Arizona taxpayers' money. He carefully scrutinized budgets and expenditures. On some occasions he called in department heads to inquire about expenditures that he thought were unnecessary. In his assignments in the Senate, he moved with ease among governors, congressmen, and university presidents. One of his colleagues in the Arizona State Senate was Sandra Day O'Connor, who is now a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Boyd was influential in passing legislation on taxation, reapportionment, roads and highways, education, mining, state parks, as well as other areas of government. In the mid-1960s, he sponsored a bill to rescind daylight savings time after Arizona had been on it for a year. He said that he received more letters and phone calls opposing DST than any other topic while he was in the Legislature. But Boyd's most important contribution while he was in the Legislature was in assisting many of his constituents who came to him with problems and thought that he might be able to help them. During the 20 years Boyd served in the Legislature, he was known for his ability to build consensus. He was respected by members of both political parties: by those with whom he agreed and by those with whom he disagreed. He treated others with respect. During five of his election campaigns there were opposing candidates and during the other five there were none. At one rousing meeting, when accusations were being directed at various individuals, Boyd said, "As for my opponent, I don't know anything bad about him. He's a good man and we've been friends for years. But our difference is in our political philosophy, and I want to discuss political philosophy." Boyd resigned from the Legislature at the end of his tenth term to accept a call, with his wife Rachel, to serve a mission in Barcelona, Spain. He was an active member of the LDS church, serving as a bishop and as a leader in the Prescott Stake. In the 1980s and '90s, Boyd served on the Yavapai College and Sharlot Hall Museum Boards of Trustees. The library at Yavapai College is named after him. Boyd's home was always open to those who needed help. Beginning shortly after his marriage and for the next 35 years he and Rachel provided homes for more than 30 boys and girls, who stayed for a few months and up to five years. Boyd is remembered for his generosity and his sense of humor, also for his ability to work tirelessly. He was a loving husband and father and a devoted friend. He fought fearlessly for what he believed was right and was cowed by no one, but at heart he was a very gentle man. During the last few years, as his body began to slow down and he could no longer do the things he used to do, what remained was sweetness and goodness. On the last day of his life he expressed his love for his family and his appreciation to the staff at the Arizona Pioneers' Home, who gave him such good care during the last year and a half of his life. He will be missed by all who dearly loved him. Funeral arrangements are being taken care of by Hampton Funeral Home in Prescott. Services will be held Saturday, Dec. 10th, at 11 a.m., in the LDS Church on 1110 Sandretto Drive, in Prescott. The family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the LDS Humanitarian Services, c/o Bishop Kent Evans, 1571 Drive, Prescott, Az., 86301. Information provided by survivors. See Also: Find A Grave |
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