Obituary of Maryanna Elizabeth Tacka

Andrus Hartman Age 74, passed away from complications of Alzheimer’s Disease at home on December 24, 2016 in the company of family. Maryanna was born in Elmira, NY on July 20, 1942, a daughter of the late William G. and Elizabeth (Shortsleeve) Andrus. She is survived by her sons Mark Daniel Hartman (children Kelsey, Shane, Zach and Holden) of Ionia, Michigan; Steven Patrick Hartman (wife Jenny and children Dylan, Elise, Hedda and Egil) of Stockholm, Sweden; and Shon Christopher Hartman (children Luka and Elea) of Idyllwild, CA and Paris, France; siblings William G. ”Gus” Andrus, Jr. (wife Paula and children Robert and Jennifer) of Portage, MI; Tom Andrus (wife Susan and children Deborah, Chris and Mary) of Syracuse, NY; Kathy Berry (husband Mike Berry and children Jean, Michael and Cara) of Lodi, NY; Betsy Pierce (children Dawn and Nick Rich) of Elmira, NY; John (wife Dorothy and children Matt and Kyle) Andrus of Clifton Park, NY; and brother Jerry Andrus (wife Karen Jennings and children Jacob, Allie and Caitlin) of Wells, Maine. Maryanna is also mourned by her first husband Ronald G. Hartman of Daytona Beach, FL and her second husband John Tacka of Horseheads, NY, as well as many friends, former colleagues, neighbors, and relatives from the Andrus, Shortsleeve (Troy and Golden) and Hartman extended families. Following the example of her own mother Maryanna always put the needs of others ahead of her own wishes. While still a child herself she became something of a second mother to her younger siblings, taking care of them and helping to raise them when her own parents needed to be away from the household working to make ends meet. She also began working as a telephone operator in Elmira as a teenager to help support her family. With the exception of several years in Levittown Pennsylvania and then back in Elmira working as a bus driver for the local school districts, she continued to work for the phone company in Elmira as an operator and then as a supervisor until her early retirement in the 1990s when early onset Alzheimer’s began to make the work challenging. After retirement she fulfilled a lifelong dream to get a college education by completing an associate’s degree from Corning Community College in her 50s, graduating Summa Cum Laude and earning full scholarship offers to complete her bachelor’s degree from numerous four-year colleges in New York and Pennsylvania. She did not continue her higher education because her progressing Alzheimer’s condition posed increasing challenges to her studies. Maryanna was a gifted writer who often composed poems in honor of friends and colleagues on special occasions. She had a marvelous sense of humor and a remarkable ability to find humor in her own experiences and misadventures. Her laughter was infectious and she invariably made others in her company feel good. The increasing solitude occasioned by the gradual decline in cognitive and communicative abilities from her deteriorating condition was very difficult for a person so drawn to the company of others and so socially gifted. Her isolated existence at the very end of her life was like a prison that her family, though grieving deeply, is relieved to see her released from. She was a woman who made a strong impression on many people and her smile and contagious laughter will continue to live on in the memories of those who loved her. On Friday January 6, 2017, an informal memorial observance will be held at McInerny Funeral Home, 502 W Water St., Elmira, 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Anyone wishing to stop by to pay their respects to Maryanna in their own fashion is very welcome. On Saturday January 7, 2017 a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Patrick's Church on Clinton St. and North Main & Park Place in Elmira at 1:00 p.m. All are welcome. Following the Mass a gathering will take place at the Elk's Lodge on the corner of Baldwin and Gray Street in downtown Elmira from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This gathering is meant, above all, to celebrate Maryanna's life. Any friends, family, neighbors, former school mates or colleagues who wish to honor her memory are very welcome to meet at this social observance to break bread and share memories with others whose lives she touched. In lieu of flowers Maryanna’s family asks that donations be made instead to a scholarship fund being set up in her name for economically disadvantaged young women to help give them a leg up to pursue a college education. The donations can be sent to: https://www.gofundme.com/MaryannaAndrusFund