Ada Marie Tennant (Bolivar)'s Obituary
Ada Marie was born April 4, 1921 in Mystic, IA and departed this life on February 2, 2019, in Tucson, AZ. She was the third of four daughters born to Archie and Pearl Hiatt. At a young age the family moved from Southern Iowa to the plains of Eastern Colorado near Ft. Morgan. “Marie” as she was known to family and friends attended Ft. Morgan High School and enjoyed many fun times with her sisters.
Upon graduation she entered college at Colorado State Teachers College preparing herself to be a teacher. As was the custom at that time, she was offered a teaching position at a one room school after her first year. She taught school during the winter and attended classes in the summer until the outbreak of WWII in 1941. It was during this time she and her future husband Paul Tennant, began a courtship that resulted in a marriage that lasted 64 years.
Paul enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942 and it was during a weekend furlough that Marie, Paul, their brothers and sisters, and their parents went across the state line to Sidney, Nebraska and were married on December 8, 1942. During the war, Marie taught school and followed Paul to duty stations in Liberal, KS, Dallas, TX and Biloxi, MS. After the war they returned to Eastern Colorado where Paul worked on the family farm.
1948 was a big year of change for Marie. In April she gave birth to a daughter, Cheryl Rae and later that summer Archie, Pearl, Anna Mae, Lynn, Paul and Marie left Colorado and moved to farms around Humansville. Marie lived in Humansville for the next 52 years and was a member of the Humansville United Methodist Church for more than 50 years. Paul and Marie were both active in the Church until age and health limited their participation.
She and Paul built their home in Humansville when Paul became a rural mail carrier in 1960. The home was a gathering place for family and friends and Marie took great pride in caring for a large garden and the yard which contained many flower beds.
In 1969 she and her sister Anna Mae finished the requirements for a degree in elementary education at Southwest Baptist College and received her lifetime teaching certificate. She taught in the Weaubleau/Collins school district until her retirement in 1985.
After she retired, she and Paul traveled extensively. They enjoyed trips to Europe and Hawaii and especially enjoyed the many bus trips they took to locations across the US and Canada. However, Humansville was “home” and many of her best retirement memories were the result of activities that she shared with family and friends in the community.
Marie always enjoyed working with her hands and creating beautiful, hand crafted works of art. She enjoyed quilting, knitting and crocheting but in her retirement she discovered china painting and later jewelry creation. She painted hundreds of china items with the training and coaching of her teacher, Doris Meade. The pieces were detailed and delicate and she beamed with pride when they were finished. Later in life when she no longer had the dexterity to paint, she discovered the creation and fabrication of jewelry using semi-precious stones.
In 2000 she and Paul were forced to leave Humansville due to his fight with cancer. While she accepted the need for moving, Humansville was always home and she spoke often of people she had known and the pleasant times she had experienced.
In 2012 Marie sold her home in Leawood, KS and moved to Marana, Arizona to be near her daughter and son-in-law. She resided with them until failing health caused her to move into an assisted living facility in 2017 where she resided until she passed.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Paul, her three sisters and their spouses; Anita Hickman and husband Vic, Anna Mae Tennant and husband Lynn, and Beverly Litle and husband Paul as well as her parents, Archie and Pearl Hiatt.
Marie is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Cheryl & Gayle Brace of Marana, AZ; 11 nieces and nephews and many members of the extended family.
Marie was the last of the Tennant/Hiatt generation that Tom Brokow called the “greatest generation”. She experienced the roar of the 1920’s, the struggles of the great depression, the call to service during WWII and the opportunities provided in the post WWII era. Her life experiences were entertaining and educational to all who knew her. She will be missed.
Funeral Services for Ada Tennant will be held Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 11 AM at the Butler Funeral Home in Humansville, MO. Visitation will be held Saturday, February 9, 2019 from 10-11 AM at the Butler Funeral Home in Humansville, Mo. Burial will take place at Humansville Cemetery.
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