Official Randy Lee Tenley Photo and Obituary Published
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 30th, 2012
Randy Lee Tenley, 44.
The local newspaper, the Daily Inter Lake, has published what appears to be the official family-submitted obituary for Randy Lee Tenley, who died tragically last Sunday, allegedly attempting to create a hoax Bigfoot sighting on Highway 93, in Montana. Also, this is the first posted photograph of Mr. Tenley. This image will be widely distributed, for this event marks a sad historical first.
Randy Lee Tenley, 44, was taken from his family in a tragic accident in Kalispell, on Aug. 26, 2012.
Randy was born in New Martinsville, W.Va., on Dec. 10, 1967. The family moved when he was a young boy and brought him to his home in Kalispell. He graduated from Flathead High School in 1985.
He worked at Plum Creek for over 10 years and at Mergenthaler Transfer and Storage Company for five years.
Randy enjoyed all of the outdoor activities Montana offers — hunting, fishing, camping and boating. He was passionate about his friends (they referred to him as “Tater”) and the sheer number of them demonstrate his popularity.
He was preceded in death by his father, Earl Tenley.
He is survived by his son, Hunter, of Kalispell; his mother and father, Norma and Maurice Engebretson, of Kalispell; three sisters, Judy and Joe Peterson of Spokane, Debbie Wigner and Tom Whinihan of Kalispell, and Earlene Greene of Kalispell; and brother, Joe Cook, of Kalispell. He is also survived by several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.
A private burial is planned, followed by a life celebration for all friends and family at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, at Flathead Christian Center, 255 Summit Ridge Drive, Kalispell.
A benefit fund for Randy’s son, Hunter Tenley, has been established at Three Rivers Bank, 233 E. Idaho St., Kalispell, MT 59901 (406-755-4271).
Our condolences to the Tenley family, and especially his son Hunter. I publish the entire obituary here, so the benefit information will be widely disseminated, for this young man is, no doubt, in need and pain.
Once again, support and condolences to the two traumatized young women drivers who encountered Mr. Tenley on Highway 93.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Thanks for adding this. It’s good to try to get the complete story.