Howard A. Tanner, 79
CLARKSBURG, Mass. - Howard Albert Tanner, 79, of Clarksburg died Wednesday, April 20, 2011, after being stricken while working on his farm, doing what he loved best. Mr. Tanner was a longtime firefighter, elected official and highway superintendent.
Born in North Adams on July 24, 1931, a son of Ralph and Mabelle Wardwell Tanner, he attended the former Briggsville School and graduated from Drury High School in North Adams and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mr. Tanner was the Clarksburg highway superintendent for 32 years, retiring in 1999. He was a security guard at Clarksburg State Park and, most recently, was a school bus driver for Tietgens and DuFour bus lines until 2010. He first owned and operated Tanner's Dairy Farm until 1967.
He was a member of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company for 51 years, serving as the chief from 1972 to 1981. He also had been a town constable and served as a member of the Board of Health and as a selectman. At the time of his death, he was a member of the Conservation Commission. He enjoyed farming and raising cattle and show rabbits and his beloved dogs, Bideau and Pudge.
He married the former Marlene Mirke on Oct. 8, 1951, at First Baptist Church in North Adams.
Besides his wife, he leaves his companion of 30 years, Debra Blondin Lefave of Clarksburg; four children, Gayle Smith of Dalton, Debra Chesbro and her husband, Peter of Stamford, Vt., Bryan Tanner and his wife, Mary, of Clarksburg and Samantha Tanner and her friend, Joe Macksey; seven grandchildren, Shawn Smith and his friend, Christine DiLorenzo, of North Adams, Amber Smith of Los Angeles, Kaci Hurlbut and her fiance, Bart Howes, of Readsboro, Vt., Kyle Hurlbut and his wife, Sarah, of Clarksburg, Kolin Hurlbut of Stamford, and Aimee Tanner Kelley and her husband, Preston, and Daniel Tanner and his wife, Martha, all of North Adams.
His brother, Carlton Tanner, died in World War II and his son-in-law Raymond Smith Jr. is deceased.
FUNERAL NOTICE - Services for Mr. Tanner will take place Saturday, April 23, at noon at Flynn & Danoli-Montagna Home for Funerals , West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams. Burial will follow in Clarksburg Cemetery.
Calling hours at will be Saturday morning from 10 until the time of the funeral. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in his memory to the VNA & Hospice of Northern Berkshire, the North Adams Ambulance Service or the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department through funeral home.