TRIBUTES narrating the life of former GraceKennedy Director Mable Tenn encapsulated the beloved businesswoman’s existence as nothing short of perfect.

Family and friends of the entrepreneur and business leader gathered Tuesday for her requiem at Sts Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in St Andrew, focusing on prayers for Tenn, and celebrating the woman who first joined GraceKennedy in 1952, and who was later appointed director in 1974 with responsibility for manufacturing and agriculture.

Tenn died on December 26, 2025. She was 95.

Her niece Camille Chin shared that Tenn’s strong personality, inspiring accolades, and life’s work were enough to give her a perfect 10 rating.

“Aunt Mable beat breast cancer, installed a pin in her broken hip at 93 years old; she even had COVID, but sadly contracted pneumonia. And even though she had excellent oxygen level and good blood pressure her big, generous heart gave out on the evening of Boxing Day,” another niece, Stephanie Chen See, shared in the remembrance delivered with Chin.

In his tribute, former CEO and director of GraceKennedy Douglas Orane highlighted Tenn’s business ventures, noting that he had been introduced to the GraceKennedy family through Tenn, which he later joined in 1981.

“Mable’s life has been intertwined with GraceKennedy activities over many decades. She was a graduate of Alpha Academy. She worked as a secretary up to 1959 when she resigned to pursue her entrepreneurial ambitions, firstly through managing her family’s retail business, Ten Key Company, in Oracabessa, and later Tropic Pharmacy in Tropical Plaza Kingston,” he said. “In 1967, she purchased a food processing plant, Dacosta Brothers, which produced ketchup, canned juices, and vegetables. GraceKennedy was one of her major customers. In 1973, GraceKennedy purchased Dacosta Brothers and Mable was back in the fold of the company in which she spent the remainder of her working career holding multiple important roles at Grace up to her retirement in 1995.”

He added that after her retirement, Tenn was appointed executive-in-residence at Mona School of Business and Managment at The University of the West Indies where she was a hardened lobbyist for funding to expand on-campus research in agri-business.

Orane, who described Tenn as passionate, assertive, articulate, helpful and strong willed, pointed out that she was never afraid to defend her point of view.

“Those of us who worked with Mable remember her as an individual with strongly held views which she advanced with courage and defended fiercely; at the same time she had a softer side, she cared for those who surrounded her, particularly the less well off, whether they were employees or young people struggling to make their way in the obstacle-laden outside world,” he said.

Pivoting to Tenn’s achievements, Orane said she contributed as a board director in more than 20 companies or institutions.

“Mable was a groundbreaking pioneer of women advancing in business, not only in managing operations but particularly in board directorships. She was the first female director in GraceKennedy’s history, appointed in 1974. In addition, she held directorships across a wide-ranging number of organisations. I marvelled at how she fitted so many activities in her busy days,” he said, listing Jamaica Industrial Development Corporation; Agricultural Marketing Corporation; Jamaica Manufacturers Association; Rural Agricultural Development Authority; Combined Tobacco Company Limited; Standards Council of the Bureau of Standards; Factories Appeals Board; and more.

Orane explained that Tenn was not only a visionary in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, but also had a good eye for real estate.

“A defining period in Mable’s pioneering career was her leadership from 1979 to 1985 of the Hartlet Hall Farm in Clarendon, established to export winter vegetables to North America. She threw herself into this project with her typical passion, and she initiated the use of modern farming methods, including the introduction of Israeli technology,” he said.

“Both in supporting GraceKennedy’s expansion and in her personal investment, through her trailblazing spirit she led the way for GraceKennedy to buy 49 acres of the Bernard Lodge sugar cane lands just out of Spanish Town. This property is now the location of our modern 340,000 square feet distribution centre completed in 2009,” Orane said.

In 1980, Mable Tenn was awarded the Order of Distinction for her outstanding contribution to business development and national service by the Government of Jamaica.

She was born on June 22, 1930.

Cathy Little-Fisher (right) carries the urn bearing the remains of her aunt Mable Tenn into the requiem mass at Sts Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in St Andrew on Tuesday. At left is Mable Tenn’s sister Yvonne Little.

Frank James (left), CEO of GraceKennedy Group, shares a light moment with former CEO Douglas Orane during the requiem for Mable Tenn at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Tuesday.

Father and son attorneys Carlton Williams (left) and Marc Williams sit among the mourners at the requiem for Mable Tenn at Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Church on Tuesday.

Mable Tenn’s nieces Stephanie Chen See (right) and Camille Chin read the remembrance at her requiem at Sts Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in St Andrew Tuesday.