Claudette Tennassee

She was born in Guyana, S.A. on February 2, 1955. and graduated from Skeldon Lutheran H.S. and received a bachelors degree from Baruch College.

Claudette married Neville Tennassee.

She had a career in banking and Finance for J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. She was a member of Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, NYC.

Claudette had a passion for gardening, cooking, and traveling.

She is survived by her son, Richard Tennassee; and siblings, James Bhagwandin, John Bhagwandin, Marjorie Bhagwandin, Jerry Bhagwandin, Judy Sudarsan, and Jennie Hewitt.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation.

Visitation will be held at Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha, FL 34734, US, on June 6, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The Funeral Service will take place at Woodlawn Memorial Park & Funeral Home, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha, FL 34734, US, on June 7, 2026, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm, followed by the Committal Service at Woodlawn Memorial Park & Cremation Gardens, 400 Woodlawn Cemetery Road, Gotha, FL 34734, US, on June 7, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm.

Claudette was born in Fair Field, Guyana, on February 2, 1955. She was the daughter of Deonarain and Marie Bhagwandin, and one of seven siblings, including: Marjorie, James, John, Jerry, Judy, and Jennie. She attended Skeldon Lutheran High School and graduated in 1972.She was employed as an Office Assistant in the Administrative Office at Skeldon Sugar Estate. Claudette migrated to New York City in the Summer of 1975, and settled with her family on Columbia Street in Lower Manhattan.

Claudette’s first few years in New York were spent persuing higher education in the fields of banking and finance.Before embarking on her career in banking and finance, Claudette earned her beauty school shingle at the Wilfred Academy in NYC. This came in handy for the family as we all got free haircuts. After completing her training in finance, Claudette took a job with JP Morgan Chase Bank and for the next 25 years moved up the ladder and ended as an Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor. She accumulated numerous awards and accolades, and had some famous personalities on her client list. She was also the de facto financial advisor and banker for family and friends. We all benefitted from her sound financial advice and stock tips!

In 1981Claudette got married to Neville Tennassee and celebrated the arrival of their son Richard in 1982. During this period of her life, Claudette was happiest during family gatherings: Christmases at 20G–at her parent’s home in Manhattan, she enjoyed summers in Monte Bello and Lake Ontario in Canada where she taught her nieces how to clean a bucket of fish Guyana style! She spent large Thanksgiving gatherings in the Pocono Mountains, and get-togethers in Syracuse and Columbia County in Upstate New York. During our many get-togethers, she was the life of the party–two of her favourite party songs include, ‘We are Family’ and ‘Celebration’, by Cool and the Gang. She was also a very good cook–we enjoyed her many wonderful dishes and baked goods. Claudette also traveled to Europe, toured much of the United States and relaxed on many Caribbean Islands, all in the company of family. She loved the occasional trip to the casino to practice her skills on the video poker machine, and always shared her winnings with the non-winners in the group!

In 2005, Claudette experienced her first symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The onset was mild so she carried on with her job, plus home and family commitments. In the ensuing years, Claudette’s Parkinson condition deteriorated–her activities began to slow, and the family took notice of the decline of this once robust and energetic lady–we kept our fingers crossed that a cure or effective treatment for Parkinson’s would be here soon.

Claudette retired from JP Morgan Chase in 2016 to devote her time and energy to battle Parkinson’s. As mobility became a problem she had to be attended by aides as needed, with sister Judy overseeing her medical care. This was also a time when family and friends would drop in to see her and carry on a conversation for a few hours before tiring her out. However, she still had her wits about her–she would joke about something or someone–her faculty and memory were still sharp. As a matter of fact, she recently gave her brother John a new name because of his many travels–she started calling him Johnny Walker.

Claudette was always known as a kind and generous person. As expected over the years, all the kids and grandkids in the family looked forward to birthdays and holidays knowing that they would get a generous gift from Auntie Claudette.

Unfortunately, with the progression of time, Claudette’s Parkinson symptoms became more severe. She had to be hospitalized on several occasions in New York–the family thought that we would lose her, but she was a fighter and would always recover and head home.

In 2023, sister Judy brought Claudette to Orlando, Florida, where she could enjoy some warmth and sunshine and fresh fruits. Judy’s garden has many of Claudette’s favorite fruits that she enjoyed in Guyana, including: mangoes, oranges, lychees, five fingers, bananas, coconuts, papayas, sugar apples, golden apples, and sugar cane. Over the years, we saw many pictures of Claudette picking and eating fruits from the garden–she was happy in her new setting in Orlando. Many friends and family members would drop by to spend time with her. She made the best of her time in Florida under the constant care of her sister Judy.

As we learn more of Parkinson’s, we know that time is not a friend, especially when no cure is around the corner. In 2025, Claudette Parkinson’s condition deteriorated to stage 4 and Judy managed a 24 hours regiment to help her along the way. It was not an easy thing to witness the great difficulty in treating a stage 4 Parkinson’s patient–credit has to be given to Judy and the Aides for being there for Claudette on a 24 hour basis— never giving up when it looks like all is lost–especially during this past Thanksgiving and Christmas. A special thank you to the many aides who worked tirelessly with Claudette over the years, especially, Shirley, Lily, Sunita, Rose, and Chandanie here in Orlando, and Neri, Shereen, Vidia, Gallo, Shanaz in NYC.

During this trying period, Claudette was comforted by listening to songs sung by her brother James accompanied by his guitar. Also, in early May of this year, Claudette perked up and was very happy to see her son Richard who came to Orlando to spend some extended time with her.

On the morning of May 10, Claudette aspirated on food which led to a cardiac arrest. She was hospitalized in intensive care in Orlando Health Central Hospital. During the evening of June 1, Claudette had family members and her pastor by her side in prayer. She passed away in the early morning hours of June 2. She is now in a better place free from the pain and suffering. She will be missed by all who knew her.