March 15, 2021
Obituary: Dr. Arthur V. Tennyson, mentor to AVMA leaders, dies at 85
Dr. Arthur V. Tennyson, 85, was a longtime AVMA leader whom friends remember as a dedicated, kind, and joyful mentor. He died Jan. 24.
Dr. Tennyson joined the AVMA staff in 1977 as director of the Membership and Field Services Division. He retired in 2004 as assistant executive vice president. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force from 1958-70, earned his veterinary degree in 1974 from the University of Pennsylvania, and worked three years in mixed animal private practice in Vermont, during which time he learned he was allergic to cattle.
He returned to the Air Force as a reservist for 16 years while working at the AVMA, and he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
Dr. Joseph Kinnarney, 2015-16 AVMA president, said Dr. Tennyson’s guidance influenced him for 40 years.
Dr. Tennyson was the AVMA’s adviser to the Student AVMA when Dr. Kinnarney was SAVMA president in 1979-80 and helped mold him into a leader. Dr. Tennyson gave Dr. Kinnarney advice on how to accomplish goals rather than telling him what to do, a practice that eventually helped Dr. Kinnarney lead young veterinarians in his own practice.
“I don’t go in and do their case,” he said. “But I try to guide them.”
AVMA CEO Dr. Janet Donlin, who joined the AVMA staff for the first time in 1991, described Dr. Tennyson as a visionary with a memory for details, an understanding of history and how things could be done differently, and a passion for making his Association serve each member and veterinary student.
Dr. John de Jong, 2018-19 AVMA president, similarly described Dr. Tennyson as intelligent, kind, jovial, generous, and dedicated to the veterinary profession and AVMA. Dr. de Jong always found Dr. Tennyson to be supportive and encouraging when Dr. de Jong was starting out as a volunteer at the AVMA, guiding him through governance processes and offering wisdom about life.
Before Dr. Tennyson retired from the AVMA, he said that, if he could do it all over again, he would have spent more time with his loved ones. That stuck with Dr. de Jong as he rose through the ranks of AVMA volunteer leadership.
“I always remembered that my family was the most important thing to me, and I would make sure that, even if I was traveling, I was calling them regularly, I was texting them, I was letting them know that they were the most important thing in the world to me.”
Dr. de Jong said Dr. Tennyson was willing to mentor anyone, whether the person asked for help or was just willing to listen.
“He was just a good, decent man who cared about his colleagues, cared about his profession, was willing to share what things he did right, things he did wrong—and hope that would help those who would follow, like me,” Dr. de Jong said.
Dr. Kinnarney said he was grateful he got to thank Dr. Tennyson when presenting him with the AVMA President’s Award in 2016.
Dr. de Jong said he was glad to have known Dr. Tennyson, and he will be missed.
Dr. Tennyson is survived by his wife, Elaine; sister, Ardeth; daughters Phyllis Tarbell (Claude) and Peggy Robey (Bob); sons Arthur and Joe (Lorrie); stepson Tom Stutesman (Cheryl); and grandchildren Joni, Ben, Kevin, Christopher, Jon, Rachel, Katlyn, David, Emily, Kathryn, and Andrew.
Dr. Tennyson’s family plans to host a memorial service sometime in May at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery. Donations may be made in his memory to Buena Vida Estate Foundation, designated for Jasmine House (Memory Care), 2129 W. New Haven Ave., West Melbourne, FL 32904.