Pamela Bauman Tanguay

Pam was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in New Britain, Connecticut. She graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School and went on to enjoy a successful career in insurance, most notably leading the Personal Lines team as a Unit Manager at Aetna. In 1987, Pam became the first woman to be featured in Aetna’s Annual Report, a testament to the many special projects she was tasked with which put her in the spotlight on numerous occasions. After her time at Aetna, she worked with the Gemini User Group, spearheading the development of integration systems for insurance agencies which are still in use today.

While she was proud of her insurance career and resulting accomplishments, she considered the greatest accomplishment of her life to be her only child, Stefanie.

When Stefanie was nine years old, she was diagnosed with Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (NLD). A born problem-solver, Pam embraced the challenge of raising a child whose needs weren’t fully outlined in existing literature. She worked closely with her daughter and spent countless hours researching how the brain operates. Pam found that new neural pathways could be developed with enough work on the affected areas of the brain, and at the age of 16, Stefanie became the first child known to test out of the disorder by evidence of her final neuropsychological evaluation. As a result of Pam’s research and unprecedented success with her daughter, she wrote two books: “Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home: A Parent’s Guide” (2000), and “Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School: Educating Students with NLD, Asperger Syndrome, and Related Conditions” (2001), which were published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and translated into multiple languages, reaching thousands of people all over the world. These books are still revered by industry professionals as essential reading for parents and teachers of NLD-diagnosed children.

Although the love for her daughter knew no bounds, the purest joy of Pam’s life came from her many poodles over the years. Some might have called her house a zoo, and they’d have been correct in doing so. Though cats and other dog breeds (along with Stefanie’s many critters) filled the home at any given time, it was her poodles that warmed her heart the most.

Apart from her daughter, writing, and poodles, Pam thoroughly enjoyed photography. She was rarely without a camera by her side, complete with multiple lenses and extra rolls of film. Thanks to her tireless effort to capture every milestone and vacation on camera, the author of this obituary enjoys a multitude of heartwarming memories to look back on.

Pam’s funeral was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 24th, 2024 at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home. She is entombed at All Saints Mausoleum with her father and grandmother. Per her wishes, the funeral was a small gathering of close family. Her sister and caregiver, Linda, received support from her friends that attended.

Pam was preceded in death by her father Carl Sidney Bauman III, mother Christine Glass Bauman, and her beloved grandmother Jeanne Giffroy Baxter. She is survived by her daughter Stefanie Tanguay, her siblings Kenneth Bauman, Linda Mayberry, Cynthia Connelly, and Stephen Bauman, as well as many nieces and nephews. Of these nieces and nephews, her niece Diana Tilley Crooks receives special mention, as she was present for end-of-life care. Diana’s children, Hannah, Kennedy, and Eric, also brought Pam much joy in the final years of her life. Last but most certainly not least, she is survived by her poodles, Tucker, Jaime, and Chili.

In lieu of flowers, Pam would ask that you donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Memorial donations may be made online at https://www.stjude.org/donate or sent to 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.