Stephen Wayne Tenpenny Sr.

Born on December 8, 1946, to Sam and Edith Tenpenny, Steve spent a wonderful childhood growing up in Oak Cliff’s Cedar Crest neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. He attended John Neely Bryan Elementary, Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High and then became a proud South Oak Cliff Golden Bear, where he played football, basketball and baseball and was a member of several clubs and a volunteer with the school’s Red Cross organization. It was at SOC, in chemistry class, where he would find himself introduced to an unexpected lab partner, a spunky little Golden Deb drill team member named Joanna Horn. He eventually asked her to homecoming, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Steve and Joanna tied the knot, at the age of 19, on April 2, 1966, surrounded by numerous friends and family, at Grace Lutheran Church. That night, they waved goodbye and began the drive to Biloxi, Mississippi, where Steve would report for duty at Keesler Air Force Base. Times weren’t easy for a young military couple. The take-home pay was $175 a month, and rent was $75. But love, faith and Steve’s commitment to his country would keep them going. Steve served the United States Air Force from November of 1965 to November of 1971, spending 15 months stationed in the Philippine Islands during the Vietnam War. Upon discharge from the military, Steve entered law enforcement as an officer with the Dallas Police Department and would become a SWAT member in DPD’s first ever bomb squad. From there, he had the prestigious opportunity to enter law enforcement for DFW airport during its founding year of 1973. He and a dear fellow officer and friend, Jack Woodman, were assigned special detail to guard Executive Director Tom Sullivan and chauffeur famous guest comedian Jack Benny, throughout several days of grand opening events. During his spare time, outside the line of duty, Steve also drew the architectural blueprints for the couple’s first custom home, to be built just north of Duncanville, making the City of Champions the Tenpenny’s new community.

September of 1975 ushered in a family expansion with the birth of Steve and Joanna’s daughter, Amanda. With this change would also come a career shift for Steve from law enforcement into the flexible packaging industry. The little family would, again, receive a second blessing with the birth of a son, Stephen, Jr., in March of 1981. Adding the moniker of “Dad,” to his name, would be where Steve really shined. Even in the midst of supporting his family and ultimately launching ProPack Films, which would eventually become Southwinds Packaging Solutions, his two children could not have asked for a more involved father. He was a fervent supporter of Amanda, throughout years of dance, piano, cheer, drill team, science fairs, theater and numerous clubs. He even assumed the role of President of the Linebackers, the Duncanville High Hat drill team booster club. He was an avid fan of every sport that Stephen played, from baseball to basketball to football, practicing constantly with him and stepping up as head coach, for many years, in youth baseball. In 1998, the entire family cheered on Stephen and the Duncanville Panthers varsity football team, as they led the city to a 5A State Championship victory over Converse Judson. Steve could not have been more excited for his son! As if being a sports fanatic weren’t enough, he would later find himself a front row seat, as Stephen’s number one groupie, for the Steve Tenpenny Band, proudly watching his son write lyrics, sing and play guitar with a fabulous band of musicians, all over the great state of Texas!

Throughout his life, Steve was a passionate lover of many hobbies, service work and sharing his knowledge with anyone willing to pull up a chair. In his early days, Steve enjoyed gardening, singing in the church choir with Joanna, listening to records on his turntable and expressing his artistic abilities through painting, with many of his works still hanging on walls today. As he grew in life, you could find him collecting coins and knives, quoting lines from his favorite westerns or W.C. Fields movies and devouring every Civil War history book he could get his hands on. Amanda and Stephen, and their spouses, fulfilled a lifelong bucket list of his to see Gettysburg, in 2006, as part of a cross-country trip to celebrate Steve and Joanna’s 40th wedding anniversary. He would teach any kid how to fish and hunt, and especially loved spending time with his grandchildren at the deer lease or the family’s lake house. He enjoyed membership in model airplane and car clubs, and anyone who crossed his path knew him to be the ultimate automobile zealot, proudly owning 63 vehicles in his lifetime (several of which he fully restored)! Steve served his Christian faith well by building the Lord’s church. As Chairman of the Board of Education for St. Mark Lutheran Church, in Duncanville, Steve served with other faithful men to break ground on a new school in 1983. He would later continue that habit of “building” by serving as Building Chairman for construction projects at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, in DeSoto. Aside from all of his hobbies and roles and memberships, though, Steve was best known for being a kind and fun-loving addition to humanity, always anxious and excited to be with his immediate and many extended family members, always ready to joke and laugh with his friends and always seeking to lend a helping hand to people he knew were in trouble. Many times, in his life, he gave of his time and finances to others, those who just needed a lift out of the struggle, and no one ever knew about it. That is the true measure of man who lived his faith.

All who knew Steve Tenpenny are thankful for the abundant life that he shared on this earth. He is survived by his wife, of almost 60 years, and best friend Joanna Elizabeth (Horn) Tenpenny, of Keller, Texas, daughter Amanda Jean (Tenpenny) Schulz and husband Jon, of Dallas, Texas, son Stephen Wayne Tenpenny, Jr., and wife Jaymie (Duffek), of Keller, Texas, as well as four beautiful grandchildren - Jackson, Nate, Hagan and Alice. He is also survived by his brother Samuel Speer Tenpenny, Jr., of Ennis, Texas, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, extended family members and lifelong friends. Steve is preceded in death by his parents Samuel Speer, Sr., and Edith Elizabeth (Bond) Tenpenny, of Dallas, Texas.

Please join the family in celebration of an extraordinary life!

BLUEBONNET HILLS FUNERAL HOME & MEMORIAL PARK

5725 Colleyville Blvd., Colleyville, Texas 76034

Visitation:

Monday, March 16, 2026

6:00-8:00pm

Funeral Service and Lunch Reception:

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

10:00am-1:00pm

DALLAS-FORT WORTH NATIONAL CEMETERY

2000 Mountain Creek Pkwy., Dallas, Texas 75211

Committal with Military Honors:

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

2:00pm

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following organizations:

TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION

P.O. Box 70719

Philadelphia, PA 19176-0719

Donate Online: https://t2t.org

CARRY THE LOAD

ATTN: SCHOLARSHIP FUND

4809 Cole Ave., Suite 255

Dallas, TX 75205

Donate Online: https://www.carrytheload.org/scholarship

ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL

501 St. Jude Place

Memphis, TN 38105

Donate Online: https://www.stjude.org