Wilhelmena P. Tennyson

Wilhelmena Pearl Tennyson was born Wilhelmena Pearl White in Virginia on September 22, 1929. Her parents were Henry White, Sr. and Pearl Fitzgerald of Virginia, and Wilhelmena was one of four siblings: Norma, Martino, and Franklin. She met her would-be husband Raymond Tennyson at a relative’s holiday gathering in 1948. A loving family story relates how Raymond fell instantly in love with Wilhelmena and declared, “I am going to marry you!” The prophesy proved correct. They married in Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in Chicago, Illinois in 1950 and enjoyed a 70-year marriage. Wilhelmena and Raymond have three daughters: Gayle, Karla, and Allison. She and her husband had a son, Raymond, Jr., who passed in 1965 when he was a baby.  Wilhelmena’s birth family moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey when she was a small child, and she attended and graduated from St. Monica’s Catholic Elementary School and Atlantic City High School. In the 1947 yearbook section it asked, “What is your life’s ambition?” Wilhelmena wrote, “To Keep the Home Fires Burning.” All throughout her life as a wife and mother, she devoted her time and attention to supporting the domestic needs of her family and fabulously decorating their many homes. Raymond served 30 years in the United States Navy, moving from state to state, so Wilhelmena “kept the home fires burning” for her husband and three daughters, grounding everyone as the domestic anchor that glued the five of them all together.   After Raymond’s final military orders placed the family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1962 and he went to work for the City of Philadelphia, the family settled in the tree-lined West Oak Lane section of the city. After five years, the family moved to the 800 block of Sharpnack Street in Mt. Airy where they resided for 27 years. Wilhelmena and Raymond were members of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Roman Catholic Church, 6611 Ardleigh Street for 52 years before it closed. Subsequently, after moving to Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, they joined St. Genevieve Roman Catholic Church in Flourtown.      Wilhelmena attended the Community College of Philadelphia and Temple University. After her children were firmly established and thriving in their schools, she began her teaching career as a kindergarten teacher with the School District of Philadelphia from which she retired after eighteen years. She and Raymond traveled extensively, both in the United States and abroad.  Wilhelmena Tennyson is survived by her loving husband, three daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. Her life will be celebrated by her family in a private Catholic Service of Christian Burial. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Genevieve Church 1225 Bethlehem Pike Flourtown, PA 19031.  Thank you very much.