He was born in Woodbury, Cannon County, TN. He was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. After graduating from Woodbury High School in 1957, Wayne joined the Armed Services in 1960 and spent 5 and a half years in the reserve. In 1967, Wayne began working for TVA as a journeyman machinist. He then graduated from Middle Tennessee State university in 1975 with a B.S. in Industrial Management Technology with a major emphasis in Industrial Safety and Accident Prevention. Through out his time with TVA, he worked in several nuclear plants and served the last 12 years as a Safety Supervisor for Transmission and Customer Service for the western areas for TVA, retiring in 2000. In 2005, Wayne started the M&W Carpet Cleaning business with his son, Mark.
Wayne was a member of First Baptist Church and chairman of the Safety and Security Committee. He organized and trained the First Baptist Disaster Relief Team and also trained many teams across the state in chainsaw safety for the Southern Baptist Associating. Wayne belonged to the Barnabas Men's Bible Study group. He helped start "Room in The Inn" which provided shelter to the homeless population around Jackson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Mattie Mae Boman Tenpenny and Joe Anderson Tenpenny. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Thomas, Joe, and Doris Tenpenny; and his sisters, Carrie Irene Stone and Martha Glandon.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carlene Etter Tenpenny; his son, Mark D. Tenpenny (Mandy); his grandchildren, Taylor, Allie, Macy, and Max; and his six nieces and two nephews.
A visitation with friends and loved ones for Wayne will be held Monday, June 19, 2023 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM at George A. Smith & Sons Funeral Home, 2812 N Highland Ave, Jackson, Tennessee 38305, followed by the funeral service at 12:00 PM.
The family requests that memorials in Wayne's memory be directed to the Wayne Tenpenny Youth Camp Scholarship at First Baptist Church, 1627 North Highland, Jackson, The Barnabas Men's Ministry at First Baptist Church, or Gideon's International.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.GeorgeASmithandSons.com for the Tenpenny family.
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