Dear Friends,
I have recently learned of the death of The Rt. Rev. Cabell “Cabby” Tennis, Esq. A service for +Cabby will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at Saint Mark’s Cathedral. Clergy are invited to vest, process, and take part in the Commendation. If you plan to vest, please be ready no later than 10:10 am that morning. Please find +Cabby’s obituary below.
Cabell “Cabby” Tennis was born on October 24, 1932, in Hampton, VA. His parents were Calvin and Sylvia Tennis. His family was active in the Episcopal Church and attended St. John Church in Hampton, Virginia. Cabby attended the College of William & Mary, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1954 and with a Juris Doctor in 1956. After graduation, he worked as a night watchman in a housing project and as an usher at Constitution Hall. In 1954, he married Hyde Southall Jones, and they have four children. He was admitted to the Virginia Bar on June 11, 1956, and worked in tax and litigation for the Judge Advocate General. While practicing law, he “came to appreciate the deeper realities that go on in people’s lives.” Cabby felt the call and attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, where he graduated with an MDiv in 1964.
He was ordained as a deacon on June 1, 1964, and to the priesthood on December 19, 1964, by Bishop George P. Gunn, the bishop of Southern Virginia. Cabby was called to serve as a curate at St. John’s Church in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he served from 1965 to 1969. Cabby was then called to serve as rector at Trinity Church in Buffalo, New York, from 1969 to 1972. As rector, he worked with other clergy on civil rights, remedial programs for the poor, open housing, a high-rise for the elderly, and transitional services for the mentally ill. He participated in a three-hour Good Friday service at Trinity Church with the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. In addition, he served on the Executive Council of the Diocese of Western New York.
In 1972, Cabby was called to serve as dean and rector of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle from 1972 to 1986. During his time as dean, he added counseling services and a variety of social services and spoke out on the issue of nuclear war. He expanded St. Mark’s community outreach by offering Bloedel Hall for meetings, seminars, workshops, and celebrations. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors for the Diocese of Olympia and as a deputy to the 1982 General Convention. Cabby also traveled and served as a consultant to the Diocese of Sierra Leone and the Diocese of Zambia. He traveled to South Africa and the Soviet Union, in part, because he saw “the church as a global reality. The diocese is part of a global human family, a family that transcends cultures and national identities.”
Cabby was elected as the ninth Bishop for the Diocese of Delaware on June 14, 1986, at Grace Church in Brandywine Hundred, and was consecrated on November 8, 1986, at St. Helena’s Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware. As a bishop, he served the Episcopal Church as a member of the Committee on Sexual Exploitation, the Joint Commission on Program Budget and Finance, and the House of Bishops. He was a member of multiple bar associations, the Academy of Family Mediators, and the Association for Conflict Resolution. He was also active in social justice programs. Cabby was one of the bishops involved in the heresy trial instigated against Bishop Walter C. Righter after ordaining a gay person as a deacon. Cabby retired as bishop on December 31, 1997.
After retiring, he and Hyde moved back to Western Washington, where he served as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Olympia for twenty years. During retirement, he was active with Bishop’s United Against Gun Violence, a member of the Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission, the Committee on Public Legal Education, and a mediator with the Dispute Resolution Center of King County. Bishop Tennis presided from time to time at worship and provided pastoral care at the request of the St. Mark’s Dean. Cabby remained active in justice programs at Saint Mark’s and in the greater Seattle community. In 2018, Cabby was part of an Amicus Curiae Brief with other Episcopal Bishops when Hawaii sued the President over banning people from various countries.
He is survived by his four children, Anne, Cabby III, Whiting, and Molly, his son-in-law, Olivier Seguin, daughter-in-law, Madeleine Hewitt, and the seven grandchildren who adored their Nana to the moon and back: Liza, Whiting, and Clay Tennis, and Henri, Samuel, Theodore, and Nicolas Seguin.
Please join me in prayer for +Cabby and all those who loved and cared for him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
Blessings,
The Rt. Rev. Philip LaBelle
Bishop Philip LaBelle
The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle is the Ninth Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. The Diocese elected Bishop LaBelle on May 18, 2024. His Consecration and Ordination as bishop was on September 14, 2024.
Bishop LaBelle previously served as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts. During his time in the Diocese of Massachusetts, Bishop LaBelle did the following:
- Co-led the Mission Strategy Committee.
- Served on Executive Committee and Diocesan Council
- Directed the Fresh Start program.
He co-founded Southborough Neighbors for Peace with Dr. Safdar Medina in their small town. The organization did the following:
- Hosted peace vigils.
- Began a community-wide Iftar dinner during Ramadan.
- Established an interfaith Thanksgiving service.
- Sponsored other bridge-building events.
Additionally, Bishop LaBelle served on the core team of Central Mass. Connections in Faith, an organization centered on fostering relationships and learning about other religious faiths through quarterly gatherings.
Church of the Redeemer
Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world around us. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.
Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.
The Episcopal Church welcomes you.