Dear Tana,

We miss you every day. Chase talks about you from time to time and we always say that, "Nana is in our hearts." My heart goes out to you. May you be at peace. The following is what I shared at your service. I hope you enjoyed it. 

Love,
Jerry

I remember the day that I met Tana. It was late summer of 1995, Lisa and I had recently started seeing each other. I did not realize at the time what an impact Tana would have on my life .. or the impact she would have on the lives of my children-to-be. I remember that Lisa and I had briefly stopped by the house on the way to the Lake. Tana was in the driveway of her home on Lawton drive, holding a little Schnauzer .. a dog Lisa had bragged to me about as being the cutest dog ever. As we pulled up all I could think of was .. "wow, that is one funny looking dog."  Just kidding Maddie - you were very cute.
Seriously though, someone had said to me at some point when I was younger that if you thought that you might be serious about a partner (Lisa) - be sure to get to know their mom. On that day, as Tana stood in the driveway talking to Lisa and I, Schnauzer in hand, I remember thinking to myself, "this is the mother of the most amazing young woman that I had ever met.  She must be pretty amazing too." Tana had a radiance about her that was, loving, inviting .. someone you wanted to call Mom.  I saw that in her that day and was fortunate to be a part of it myself.
Tana opened her heart and her home to me and I eventually joined the Mainarick and Burgett families and was welcomed as if I had always belonged. I quickly learned that Tana liked to express her fondness of people by showering them with her love; to make them feel special – especially if it included giving gifts! As the first Christmas that I spent with the Mainarick family approached, Lisa shared her family traditions with me, telling me about what they did on Christmas Eve and how things happened on Christmas Day .. and, of course, the incredible number of gifts that Tana loved to buy! I was invited to join them and thought I was prepared for the sequence of events. One of the things that was supposed to happen in this XMAS tradition I found quite curious. Lisa told me that after all the gifts were opened, the whole family would have Egg McMuffins. I thought this was kind of strange. I pictured the whole family getting into the car Christmas morning and going down to McDonald's. I didn't say anything I just went with it. So Christmas morning came, the voluminous gifts were opened, and I was very interested to see how this next part was going to work out. To my surprise, the trip to McDonald's turned out to be a trip to the kitchen where Tana was working away. Silly me. Tana handed me one of these Egg McMuffins .. I had one bite I was in heaven. McDonald's couldn't hold a candle to Tana's Egg McMuffins. I believe I actually had a second one that morning. I later shared my misunderstanding and my love for Tana's cooking. These Egg McMuffins became a tradition for me too – and we later renamed them to Egg McMainaricks. Tana was all too aware of how much I loved them as she seized that opportunity to make it special for me. She was always sure to serve me first whenever she made them. One year when we did Christmas Morning at Mark & Sherrie's house and Tana brought all of her equipment just so that I could have an Egg McMainarick on Christmas morning – showering me with her love, making me feel special.
Thank you Tana for welcoming me into your heart and sharing your special gift of love with me. May your spirit live on through me, through your daughter Lisa and through your grandchildren – all of whom you showed great love for.  
We love you and we miss you.

Dear Nana,
I wanted to tell you that I miss you very much.  I am thankful that you gave me my favorite cowboy blanket because I sleep with it every night and it reminds me of you!
Love,
Ashton

Dear Nana, 

We miss you so much.  We miss your smile and your big, warm hugs.  You were the greatest Nana ever and even though we are little, we will never forget you.  You are always in our hearts.

Love, 
Chase and Gianna

Dear Tana, 
We all loved you very much.  You meant so much to so many people which is evident by all those who came today.  We are here to remember all the good times we all had together and to honor your life.
Thank YOU for the many years we had together
Thank YOU for the beautiful family you created
Thank YOU for all the love you gave
I wish I could have told you that I loved you more.

Your husband, Rick
I love you with all my heart and I am sorry

TO MY LOVING MOTHER

What can I say about my Mom?  For those of you who knew my mom, know how big her heart was and the ability she had to love unconditionally.  She taught me to see a person from the inside and cherish the feelings, and experiences that you share.  Everyone in this room today was loved and touched in one way or another by my mom.  My mom was put on this earth to be a mother.  She loved her grandchildren and spoiled them like a Grandparent deserves to do. I was very blessed to get my mom's love of music. I remember putting old records on and singing hour after hour until our voices hurt and could barely talk. My mom never missed any of my sporting events as a kid, or into my college years.  She was always there to support me win or lose.  I would look into the stands after every touchdown or homerun and there she was, smiling, and cheering as a proud parent.  Seeing her hold my daughter for the first time and knowing the cycle of love was continuing on to the next generation brought tears to my eyes.  This love she showed was not only for her immediate family.  She reached out and showed many others that same unconditional love.   I miss you mom.  I know you are in a better place now.  You can sing in the heavens together with Nanny and Jamie.  I love you! 

Your Loving Son,
Mark

While I know all our hearts are aching, are filled with mixed emotions, our minds are racing through a myriad of questions, and our eyes sting with tears, today we also come to celebrate a wonderful woman who I was fortunate enough to call mom. 

I thought of the many roles my mother played throughout her life.  But there was one very special role that stood out to me.  My mom was the conduit that linked us all together.   From our family to our San Diego family. Our Ohio family.  Our Nevada family.  All our family friends.  All communication flowed through my mother.  She is what kept us all connected.   

I am so grateful for the wonderful memories that I will hold so tightly onto…
•The holidays and birthdays always with the warm smells of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, rolls, celery sticks, and ambrosia enveloping the house
•Taking the family to Cirque du Soleil every year they came to town, getting dressed up, going out to dinner and enjoying our time together
•Singing silly songs to the kids, like “Gunk Gung went the little green frog one day,” as our eyes bugged out of our heads
•Doing Karaoke until the wee ours and listening to her beautiful voice echo off the walls
•Our recent family vacation to Tahoe.  One of the greatest times I've ever had, filled with memories that will be etched in my heart forever: playing charades, teaching the kids to roller skate, roasting s'mores, paddle boarding on the lake, hiking up the mountain.

As Jeanette mentioned in the eulogy, my mom was always there for me.
•She was there to help me through the pains of labor to welcome my sweet babies
•She was there to encourage me when my soccer dreams came crashing down as my knee throbbed in pain
•She was there to comfort me when I was scared when my little, bitty Gianna came so early into this life
•She was there to tell me everything would be alright in the middle of the night, when my heart ached

While it breaks my heart that Chase and Gianna may not have memories of their own of my mom, I will tell them what a beautiful and caring person she was.  How she always selflessly put others before herself.  And how I hope to be half the mother to them as she was to me.  She left behind big high heeled shoes to fill, but I will always strive to be as wonderful a woman as my mom was..

Dear Mom, 
Mom, my heart hurts knowing I will never see you again.  That Chase and Gianna will not have the opportunity to grow up with their Nana.  But I want you to know that we will carry you in our hearts forever.  I could never have asked for a more loving mother.  Everything you did, you did for Mark and I.  You were an amazing woman with a heart so big, that this world could not contain it. 

Tell Nanny she is my sunshine and give Jamie a big warm hug.

I love you with all my heart, 
Lisa

I lost somebody I truly loved.  I loved her for lots of reasons. She took us to Chuck E. Cheese and let us watch all our cartoons at her house.  Love Nicholas, age 7

To Tana's Family, I'm still in shock to hear that you are gone, but in our Hearts forever. We had Great times as kids growing up on Jupiter Court that will live on Forever. I wish I found out before Mother's Day, I'm so sorry I couldn't say Goodbye. I will Miss you, but will forever hold our memories Forever. I exstend this for my Brothers as they fill they have lost a sister as well. Until we see each other again. Love you Girl, Pamie, Richard, Lee, Larrie Cordova.

My sister, my friend. Never a time that you weren't right by my side. Every life event from buying my condo, to buying this place I call home. When I decided to become a single mom, only you could be so excited for me! Every doctors appointment by my side. Leaving the hospital without my little man, and you there to assure me that all would be ok. So many memories that we shared, so many secrets that we shared. A lifetime of happy memories! I will miss those happy times. You were an amazing mother and you raised two amazing children! Your legacy will live on through them and please, please know how much you are loved. Peace, love and happiness have surely found you. A lifetime of forgiveness!! I love you with all my heart!

She was an amazing woman. I truly can't thank her enough for the love she gave me when I was a kid. And it was a beautiful service. I hope she sees how many people love her now.

To Tana's family. 
My heart goes out to each of you at this time and in the days ahead. I will miss Tana, she had such a great smile and always made me feel welcome at all the family gatherings.  She will truly be missed. My love to each of you.

Tana always made you feel welcome in her home and treated you as if you were family. In addition to all of her wonderful qualities she was also the grand champion of crossword puzzles. We were very fortunate to know her and she will be greatly missed.

To my friends Mark, Lisa, Sherrie & Jerry and Rick. I'm very sorry for the great loss your family has suffered this month. I loved your mama always chatted with her at family events and experienced Ashton birth together she was a blessing to everyone ill always remember her and what a wonderful grandmother she was. I am anxious to give you all a hug later this evening it's not much but I'm always here for you guys. Love all of you Tana you will be missed by so many.

Nana
You were not only my Mom's best friend, you were a second mother to me, a nana to my son and most importantly you were my close friend. You became an integral part in my life and helped me through a very difficult transition in my life. I will never forget your smile and most importantly your laugh. I will always remember your constant gum chewing, and how mad you were after the surgery that you couldn't have your favorite gum anymore. I will forever remember our many talks and your advice to me, which almost always started with a “naw, don't you worry about that.” There are numerous things about you that I will never forget, and I wish I didn't have to. You were an amazing woman, you cared for others with a passion, you would give the shirt off your back if someone needed it, and be the first one there if someone needed help. I will never forget your presence in my delivery room, the many hours just waiting there, that's just who you were! You were such a special person in my life, and I hope you know how much Maddox and I love you!  I will cherish our memories together, forever! I love you and miss you so much!!

Tana, was a great pleasure of growing up with you on Jupiter court and staying in contact all the years past.. even though you were older.. My condolence to Rick, Mark, Lisa, Gene,David,Matt,Tinaand the family. My heart guess out to all of you in this special day. Good - bye my friend Tana may you rest in PEACE.. Rebekah (Fischbach) Ardissoni

Tana was a very special person in my life. It gave me great comfort knowing that while I was at work she would giving my children all the love in the world! I always enjoyed talking with her about life. I will cherish all our special memories. I miss you Tana but may you rest in peace & when the time comes we will meet again!

 Remembering you and your loved one today and always.i will miss u daily my good friend.

I want to send my condolences to the whole family. May you all find comfort in each other at this very stressful time. We will surely miss her smile, laughter and her love for shoes!

Dearest Tana, I know Jesus is holding you in his arms . I loved all of our long talks and will cherish them always .

I have so many wonderful memories I can't write them all down.  Tana has been such a special part of me & my family.  We shared so much raising our kids.  She was always there for me in the day.  I miss those days & especially miss my friend.  I pray for peace & that she's holding my sweet baby girl, Deana..."Step lightly for there is an Angel buried here".
Love you always, Gayle

I remember all the laughs we shared over the years as our children grew.  Her smile was one unmatched by others.  May peace be with you Tana.  With love and prayers at this time.

OBITUARY

Tana Jene Mainarick

Lima Family Milpitas-Fremont Mortuary and Cedar Lawn Cemetery

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services