Tara Eileen Terry

On the morning of 10 November 2025, Earth lost her most ceaselessly generous daughter, Tara Eileen Terry (née Kenny). Tara was born in St. Albans, Vermont on 13 September 1959 to parents John Francis Kenny and Alice Elizabeth Kenny (née Lawton). 

She was, from the start, resilient and unyielding, traits further strengthened by the childhood she shared with her sisters Erin, Laurie, and Kerry, and brother, Kevin in Taylorville, Illinois.

Following her graduation from Taylorville High School in 1977, Tara enlisted in the United States Army. She served her country honorably and proudly at home and abroad for thirty years, retiring with the rank of Master Sergeant. Her career continued in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency until her retirement in 2018.

She met and married Mark Darius ‘Doc’ Terry, her partner of 40 years while on assignment in South Korea. They had four children- son Mark Darius Terry Jr., and daughters Kaitlin Kathleen Thomas (née Terry), Marissa Marie Terry, and Emily Elizabeth Terry. Doc and Tara raised their family all over the United States and abroad, moving as required for their military service.

Tara loved the beach and traveling, but she just as much loved t.v. binge-sessions or a rowdy game of cards at a packed table. One of her greatest interests in life was to help the people she cared for, in whatever ways she could. She could uplift anyone with her wit and empathy. Her acts of generosity were immeasurable, as she put her energy, knowledge, and grit into enriching the lives of those around her. When she listened you did not just feel heard and seen, but you felt like a person deserving of love and acceptance. That was the feeling she gave you- like someone who deserved happiness, and she fought the world to get it for you. Her love for helping others was only eclipsed by her love of animals, especially unwanted strays, for which she prioritized vacancy in her home and heart.

She completed her life’s journey in Marietta, Georgia, in the surrounding embrace of her family, after a lifetime of fighting, loving, nurturing. Tara was preceded in death by her mother, her father, her sister Erin Poterucha (née Kenny), and her brother-in-law Brett Mense. She is survived by her brother Kevin Kenny and sister-in-law Jacqueline Kenny (née Smith), sister Laurie Mense (née Kenny), sister Kerry Loman (née Kenny) and brother-in-law Scott Loman, stepdaughter Alexandra Terry, grandson Tayven Lewis, granddaughter Sofia Lewis, as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

She goes now into the arms of her mother, father, sister Erin, and many other loved ones. She will be missed – and most of all loved – but endure indelibly in the hearts and memories of those whose lives she touched forever.

Tara’s legacy is carried by her Wolfpack: husband Doc, son Mark, daughter-in-law Becky, grandsons Jack and Theo, daughter Kaitlin, son-in-law Cory, granddaughter Eileen, and daughters Marissa and Emily.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you instead donate to causes that Tara was ardent about: animal welfare, child welfare, and breast cancer research.

• ASPCA

https://www.aspca.org/donate

• North Georgia Angel House

https://angelhousegagive.harnessgiving.org/donate

• Goshen Valley

https://goshenvalley.org/donate/

• Breast Cancer Research Foundation

https://www.bcrf.org/donate

Celebration of life announcement to follow.