Suzanne "Sue" Johnson Tennison

Suzanne Marie Johnson Tennison was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 26, 1933, to John and Rachel Johnson. She passed away peacefully on December 14, 2024, in Georgetown, Texas. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother during her 91 years of life, and she will be greatly missed by her husband and family, many of whom were near during her final days.

Suzanne, or Sue, was a homemaker and loved to travel throughout her life. She enjoyed a wide circle of friends in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Colorado, Arizona, England, and Texas. Her husband Robert D. Tennison worked for International Business Machines and she and Bob established many homes over the years. Sue loved to keep track of all her many friends in a fat spiral-bound address book, which over the years lost both covers, but remained a solid source of contact information and a reliable index of her life experiences and relationships.

Sue and Bob met in Spanish class while they were students at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis. Both Sue and Bob attended the University of Minnesota, from which Sue graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. She was a featured performer in the Minneapolis Aqua Follies for years and was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She was also a dedicated “Golden” member of P.E.O. for over 50 years.

During her lifetime, she was a dedicated connoisseur of many different collectibles, including blue glass and, most particularly, miniatures. She built many different museum-quality dioramas and was an expert collector. She greatly enjoyed making the rounds of collector’s sales, garage sales, antique sales, and other second-hand collectible events. She was an excellent swimmer and passed along her love of swimming to many students over the years. She also regularly volunteered in museums and events as a docent and enjoyed the history of collectibles and regional history.

She and Bob were tireless travelers, and Sue had some great stories about sailing on the QEII, traveling in Europe, and, after Bob’s retirement, driving their recreational vehicle all over the United States, Mexico, and Canada. For years Sue and Bob owned a condo in Breckenridge, Colorado, and the family enjoyed spending time there during the 1970s. While living in England, outside London, Sue enjoyed driving her Mini Cooper and exploring all the potential collecting opportunities. She was a lifelong Methodist, and most notably attended St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Boulder, Colorado and St. Paul’s in Tucson, Arizona.

Sue is survived by her husband of 69 years, Robert D. Tennison, and by her three children and their spouses, Jenelle and Brad Bartels of Broomfield, Colorado, Kari and Brad Mullet of Fox River Grove, Illinois, and Blake and Jo Anna Tennison of Sahuarita, Arizona. Grandma Sue is also survived by eleven grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren. The family will be celebrating Sue’s life on February 9th in Georgetown, Texas. Memories and sympathies can be sent to Kari Mullet, c/o Kelsey Roark, 203 S. Kings Canyon Dr., Cedar Park, TX 78613.

Service will be held at:

The Delaney Georgetown

359 Village Commons Blvd

Georgetown, TX

10:30, February 9th, 2025

In lieu of flowers, donations in Sue’s memory can be made to the P.E.O. Foundation, an educational philanthropic organization, at: peointernational.org, Make a Gift, Donate Now. The P.E.O Chapter is AU/AZ, the gift is for the P.E.O. Foundation, In Memory of Sue Tennison