My experiences with Tom Tenney began in the mid-1980s with a telephone call placed to his home in Charleston. I was living in Massachusetts at the time and made the call (cold) during my lunch-hour. I had been bitten by the Mark Twain "bug" and was anxious to "talk shop" with someone knowledgeable. I had found his name and contact info while digging around at my local library. I had no idea what was in store. It was above and beyond anything I could have hoped or imagined. The call lasted the hour, and then some. It was like talking to a dear friend although we had not yet met. In all the years since then--in the interim, my husband and I crossed paths with him at Elmira conferences, and in further calls and mailings he provided both encouragement and insights to me in my literary-research pursuits--my initial impression of him never changed. He was every bit in person as he was on the phone that first day; and those occasional one- and two- (or even three-?) hour phone calls over the years were but continuations of that original conversation. His scholarly enthusiasm, boundless energy, and gentle demeanor never wavered, and I am grateful beyond measure for the many kindnesses he extended to me. M. L. Christmas --- On Thu, 2/2/12, Alan Gribben <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > From: Alan Gribben <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Dr. Thomas A. Tenney > To: [log in to unmask] > Date: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 10:55 AM > Dr. Thomas A. Tenney (1931-2012), > best known for editing the MARK TWAIN JOU= > RNAL but also recognized for his assistance to younger > scholars, died yeste= > rday at 3:45 p.m. of heart failure after a brief stay in a > Charleston hospi= > tal. > > Dr. Tenney received the John S. Tuckey Award from the Center > for Mark Twain= > Studies at Elmira College in 2005. He was the author > of MARK TWAIN: A RE= > FERENCE GUIDE (1977) and its various supplements, along with > numerous other= > publications. > > There will be a private family service at a later date, > according to his wi= > dow Margaret Tenney; no public funeral will be held. > > Before his death Dr. Tenney made arrangements for the > continuation of the M= > ARK TWAIN JOURNAL. > > Sincerely, > Alan Gribben= >