Mary Kay Tennant - 1917-1992

The top photo was taken before Stan was born. They were a handsome pair, and I can see why my husband is so handsome! Stan's father and mother were divorced shortly after he was born and his mother raised him with the help of her mother, Nora Goddard, and her sister Delores and her husband, Russel.

Mary Kay worked very hard as a waitress most of her life to try to make a decent living for Stan and herself. She told of an incident when she was working one day in a small cafe, and the infamous "Pretty Boy Floyd" came in to be served. She met many strange people in her profession. She also had many hilarious stories to tell about her childhood and the mischievous things she and her cousins did. She was quite a character! She never had any other children so Stan was an only child and she was devoted to him.

Mary lived in Claremore, OK at the time of her death in 1991 . She professed a faith in God and so we know she's in heaven right now. She told a story of a time when she and Stan were to take an airplane flight, and a few hours before, she felt a strong, restraining touch on her shoulder, and was told not to go on that flight. She canceled and the flight they were booked on crashed. So Stan is here today because of an angel who brought a message of warning to his mother and she heeded that word.

The lower left photo was taken in her later years.

Stan's Father contacted him after Stan and I were married, and expressed a desire to get to know him and begin a relationship. They both seemed to be very anxious to do that, but it was not meant to be, as Stan Sr. died in 1978, shortly after a few telephone calls and a visit to our home.

So, Stan, having seen his father only a few times while he was growing up, did not get the chance to know him. From what we're told he was a professional gambler and once owned a casino in Nicaragua, but lost it during a political coup. There's a story that Stan's mother told, that when Stan's dad came to the hospital nursery to see him, he put a pair of dice or rather one die in his hand to test his grip, or wish him luck, who knows.

But, thankfully, Stan never got into gambling. Praise the Lord! Regardless of our circumstances, God has a plan for our lives, and HE begins and finishes that which HE ordains for us so we can thank HIM in all things.