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Natalie C. Tenney died on Feb. 23 at the house of her children in Madison, following a brief battle with cancer. She was 101 years old.

Born April 4, 1920, in New York City, she was the third child and only daughter of Nathan and Hilda (née Hoffman) Chayes. She grew up in New Rochelle, New York and graduated from New Rochelle High School in 1938. Her family later moved to a farm in Rye, New York. She attended Washington Square College of New York University and graduated in 1942 with a bachelor of science degree in biology.

Her father was founder and president of Chayes Dental Instrument Company, a manufacturer of bits for dental drills. He immigrated to the United States from eastern Europe in 1891. Mrs. Tenney’s mother was a graduate of Hunter College and taught in the New York City Public schools. She served on the Rye Rationing Board during the Second World War.

On Sept. 14, 1942, Mrs. Tenney married Ashton M. Tenney, Jr., in New Rochelle. They had met in 7th grade at Daniel Webster Junior High School in New Rochelle. Mr. Tenney was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves, was assigned to the Signal Corps, and served overseas in the China/Burma/India Theater during the Second World War. He later worked for A.M. Tenney Associates, which became part of Eastman Chemical Products, Inc., as a sales representative and testing laboratory manager. He died in 1993.

Mr. and Mrs. Tenney lived briefly in Lowell, Massachusetts following his return from military service, and moved to Greenwich, Connecticut in 1948, where they lived until 1981. Mrs. Tenney was a resident of Ormond Beach, Florida, and made frequent visits to friends and family in Connecticut and New York.

Mrs. Tenney was employed by Chayes Dental after college, working in the office and accompanying her father on business trips. When her children had grown old enough, she returned to office work as a secretary in a private mental hospital and at an independent insurance claims adjuster. In her spare time, she was a gardener who created spectacular flower beds, fed and watched songbirds, and was an accomplished cook.

Mrs. Tenney had two children who both survive her. A son, Jonathan H. Tenney, and a daughter, Melanie G. Tenney. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Jordan Becker, Rachel Tenney, Martha Tenney, and Leigh Becker Hoadley. She is also survived by four great-grandchildren.

Services will be held privately at the convenience of the family. Donations in Mrs. Tenney’s memory may be made to Goodspeed Opera House, P.O. Box A, East Haddam, CT 06423-0281 (Goodspeed.org) or Daytona Beach Symphony Society, P.O. Box 2, Daytona Beach, FL 32115 (info@dfbss.org).

Arrangements are in the care of the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church Street, Guilford. To share a memory or leave condolences, visit www.guilfordfuneralhome.com.