Rosemary Veronica Tanner

Rosemary V. Tanner - a Lifetime of Service INDIANAPOLIS – Rosemary Tanner passed away peacefully on September 25th, 2020, at the age of 87. She was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Vincent and Rosella Mathews. She attended Towson Catholic High School in Towson, MD, but before graduating she moved to Indianapolis with her family and went to Broad Ripple High School from which she graduated. Rosie went on to Indiana University Bloomington where she joined Alpha Chi Omega sorority. It was at Alpha Chi where she met her future husband, Gene (L. Gene Tanner), where he was working as a dishwasher in the sorority kitchen. She eventually moved to the School of Nursing at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis and was awarded a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) in 1956. Gene and Rosie married on April 16th, 1957, and remained happily married throughout Rosie’s life. While at IU Bloomington, in addition to being active in her sorority Rosie was one of the first women on the Union Board once women were admitted in 1952-53. She remained very committed to the Union Board and the Indiana Memorial Union all her life, becoming a board member of the John Whittenberger Society and in 1999 she founded the Rosemary V. Tanner Scholarship Fund which gives two generous cash awards a year to outstanding female directors on the current Union Board. In 2020, she was the proud recipient of an Indiana Univeristy Bicentennial Medal in recognition of distinguished service to IU presented by President McRobbie. Throughout her life she dedicated her time to volunteering, board memberships and service. After University she was a Red Cross nurse and a teacher of baby and child care and remained associated with the Red Cross for over 30 years. Rosie was a Girl Scout leader at St. Matthew Catholic School. She was a Nursery Volunteer, Board Member and Foundation Board Member for Day Nursery of Indianapolis (now Early Learning Indiana). She was also a member of The Procter Club and the Indianapolis Woman’s Club. However one of her great loves was the world of art and particularly the Indianapolis Museum of Art (now Newfields) to which she has been associated since 1982. She was a dedicated docent for over 30 years and loved teaching and touring school groups of all ages as well as introducing all her grandchildren to the beauty and importance of art in our ever changing world. She became the Docent Chair in 1992-93 and achieved the status of Docent Emerita for 25 years of giving tours. In addition to her love of teaching, she served on the Board of Trustees of the IMA from 2002 to 2008, and was active committee member and became a Life Trustee. In 2007, with her husband Gene, she worked with Newfields to restore the old orchard to what it is today and is now called the Gene and Rosemary Tanner Orchard. With continued support for a permanent endowment, the Orchard will be one of Rosie’s lasting legacies which will benefit Newfields guests now and for generations to come. Rosemary is preceded in death by her beloved son, Robert M. Tanner, who passed away in 1993. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, L. Gene Tanner, her daughter Susan, DVM, her son James (Victoria) and her youngest son, Karl (Anna). And her eleven grandchildren were a great source of joy – Lara, Luke, Adam, Jake, Maia, Sam, Raef, Gabe, Kiera, Emmanuelle and John (all Tanner’s!). Memorial contributions may be made to the RVT Scholarship Fund, I.U. Foundation, PO Box 6460, Indianapolis, IN, 46206-6460 and/or The Docent Program, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 4000 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis, IN, 46208. A requiem Mass was held at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Indianapolis on September 28th, 2020, and Rosemary was put to rest at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens.