Mary was born on May 20, 1941 in the Bronx, NY to her parents, Irving Lawrence and Helen Praet. She graduated from Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School in 1961, and she completed coursework at The Pennsylvania State University Altoona Campus. She married Thadeus “Ted” Tencza in 1965, beginning her new adventure as a military spouse, mother, and grandmother.
Travel, family, and reading were Mary’s passions. She enjoyed traveling to Europe, flying to England for dishes or Germany for curry ketchup, or attending the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. She and Ted would fly to New York to see family and a Broadway play, or they would go to Disney World to ride the Tower of Terror. When her son and his family moved to Sydney, Australia, Mary was excited to have another country to explore while visiting her much loved grandchildren. She has climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, seen the penguins at Philip Island in Melbourne, and viewed the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, her husband and best friend always by her side.
Mary is survived by her devoted husband, Thadeus E. Tencza, Sr.; her children, Michele M. Tencza, Thadeus E. Tencza, Jr and his wife, Cecelia, and Edward A. Tencza and his wife, Denise Dudley; her sister, Patricia Keene; her brother, Robert Praet and his wife, June; her grandchildren, Thadeus E. Tencza III, Connor Tencza, and Tessia Tencza, and a plethora of nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her father, Irving Lawrence Praet, her mother, Helen Praet, her brother James Praet, and her sister, Margaret Sabol. Mary will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
There will be a viewing on Monday, May 7, 2018 at the Sunset Northwest Funeral Home from 6-9 in the evening. Mary’s funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at Price of Peace Catholic Church beginning at 1:00 followed by the internment at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at 2:30 in the afternoon. There will be a Celebration of Life following the funeral services.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Fisher House Foundation.
