Gloria Christian Tench was born in Iaeger, West Virginia in 1926. She was a true "coal miner's daughter." Her father, William Christian, worked as a supervisor in the busy mining industry. Her mother, Lula Mae Poff, raised their four, surviving children, of which Gloria was the eldest. Life was hard--when she was eight, her mother died of pneumonia shortly after the birth of their fourth child. Almost a year later, her father was killed in a mining accident. The four, orphaned children were split up, with Gloria and her youngest brother going to live with an aunt and uncle. She attended and graduated high school in Berea, Kentucky. Later, she moved to Tennessee and ended up working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, drawing graphs and taking measurements of radiation badges. It was there that she met her future husband, Robert Tench and they married in 1949. Ten years later, they had their only child. Gloria was preceded in death by Robert in 2007 and her brother, Curtis, in 2006. Gloria is survived by daughter, Cheryl, son-in-law, Harry, sister, Dolores and brother, William (Bill). Despite the hardships growing up, she was always cheerful and friendly and will be missed by her many friends she made in the assisted living home where she lived out her final years.