Tonya Satterfield Hendon Obituary

Tonya Anne Satterfield Hendon of Mandeville, Louisiana, transitioned from this world on Monday, July 21, 2025, at 59 years of age. She went out the same way she lived her life, with a big party surrounded by everyone she loved. Tonya was a force of nature. A daughter, wife, mother, artist-in all things, she was pure magic. Her contagious, vivacious, loving spirit was felt by every person who encountered her throughout her life. She was a captivating, bright light in a world on fire. From small town Indianola, Mississippi, to big city Chicago, down to her favorite place in the world, New Orleans, she found peace in the relationship she built with each space. A Mardi Gras fanatic, a Hallmark Movie marathoner, a surrealist artist junkie, she was everything anyone could hope to be. Even in hardship, the positivity of her outlook radiated through each person who came in contact with her. She was her own galaxy, holding and encompassing everyone in her grace and understanding. She loved her life, her people, and more than anything, her husband, Michael, whom she was able to spend 41 spell-binding years with. She said from the first moment she saw him, he was hers-and she lived her life that way-fiercely protective and loyal in her love of her family. Her mother, Sandra Satterfield, gave birth to beautiful twin girls, and Tonya and Robyn were bound in that twin way; best friends, confidantes and road trip partners-together, their laughter could span lifetimes. Tonya and Michael, in their younger days, helped raise a trio of boys-her stepson, Heath, whom she loved wholly and completely as her own-and all of the cousins; a wild bunch in the even wilder 1980s. Later, they would have two girls, Tonya's best friends from the moment they were born. She referred to them as the Three Graces, a trio unable to be separated, a lifeline for each other. She was their matriarch, with guidance, tough love when they needed it, but mostly just warm, soft, nurturing. Her life was dedicated to the beauty of the world around her, and what she dreamed with her vast imagination. She was an art teacher for 32 years and believed whole-heartedly in everyone's ability to become an artist. She loved her students, her job and the ability to spread joy and understanding with artwork. She became a Mimi to three beautiful baby boys, Bodhi (3), Wylie (1), and Olen (7 months), and her love for her grandchildren was arguably even more expansive than her love for her children. From outfits to slingshots, dinosaurs to cowboys, she was always focused on what she could do for them. She did that for everyone-a constant giver, a quiet, steadfast force of encouragement, support, and caregiving. She did not believe in death, only in transitioning from this life to one more perfect, free from pain and a place full of joy, light and love. She will always be everywhere; there is no place for death with a soul as ferocious and unending as hers. She was preceded in death by her own best friend, her mother, Sandra Elaine Runge Satterfield, her father, Milton Alfred Satterfield, and a nephew whom she is so lovingly reunited with, Christopher Milam. She leaves behind her soul mate-Michael, her beautiful twin sister, Robyn Downs (Gary) a stepson she loved as her very own, Heath Hendon (Megan) two daughters she lived for, Mary Elizabeth Hendon-Maricle (Jacob) and Alex Gracen Hendon-Godbold (Russ), and a host of nieces and nephews of whom she loved fiercely. She loved her life so completely that in her final days, she said so over and over: "best life ever." If anyone was to make dying look beautiful, it was Tonya. There was no fear, only a quiet beauty, and her family stood in reverence at her strength. The only request she had was to be cremated in a bracelet she wore for two long years as she battled. A rallying cry and so completely, laughably her: "F cancer." There will be a celebration of life at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home, 2260 West 21st Avenue, Covington, Louisiana at 1 p.m. on July 30, 2025, and a second in her hometown of Indianola, Mississippi at 1 p.m. on August 2nd at Burton Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance in honor of Tonya's memory. https://tribute.ocrahope.org/tonyahendon E.J. Fielding Funeral Home has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. The Hendon family invites you to share thoughts, fondest memories, and condolences online at E. J. Fielding Funeral Home Guest Book at https://www.ejfieldingfh.com.