Point Reyes Light - November 24, 2004

Jeanette Tanner, former school secretary, dies at 89

By Larken Bradley

A former West Marin resident, Jeannette Tanner, died Sunday, Oct. 24, in Rohnert Park. She was 89. Mrs. Tanner lived in Inverness and Point Reyes Station for 25 years from the early 1950s to the mid-70s.

For many years she was a secretary for the Marin County Superintendent of Schools. Mrs. Tanner also worked at West Marin School and at schools in Tomales.

A single mother of five, her other jobs in West Marin included stints at Oko Real Estate, Johnson Oyster Company, and Vladimir’s Restaurant.

"Mom loved to go to Drake’s Beach to have cookouts, comb the beach, and do target practice," said her son Rick Tanner. "There was always an open-door policy at the Tanner house for my older brothers’ and sisters’ friends. There was never a dull moment in our house, good or bad."

Ecumenical and eclectic in her spiritual leanings, Mrs. Tanner was a member of both the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Roman Catholic Church. She also frequented St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Inverness.

Born in Ogden on July 22, 1915, she grew up in Salt Lake City and married Reid Tanner, a musician who was on the road much of the time. The couple had five children together and later divorced. Mr. Tanner died in 1992.

An avid reader and a crossword-puzzle aficionado, she was a founding member of the Inverness Sewing Circle. She also belonged to Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and was a member of the Civil Air Patrol.

"She was a sweetheart of a person," said her son.

Mrs. Tanner was predeceased by her sons Jon Tanner and Gerald Tanner; her brother Sterling Bailey; and her longtime companion Lester Sartori of Point Reyes Station.

She is survived by her daughters Hazel Law of Shalimar, Florida; Karen Wilkinson of Rohnert Park; son Rick Tanner of San Francisco; stepson Larry Tanner of Salt Lake City; 16 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

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