Florence Louise Baalman Tanner died on July 31, 2002 at Life Care Center in Richland, where she had been a resident since 1999. Before that she lived at Hawthorne Court in Kennewick for four years and at Columbia Edgewater Alterra in Richland for three years.

Florence was born November 28, 1908 in Washington, Missouri, the third of six children born to Anton Gerhard Baalman and Elizabeth Mary Haverkamp. She spent her early years in western Kansas, where she was educated, eventually becoming a teacher there in an eight-grade, one-room school.

In 1941 she left Kansas for Denver, Colorado, where she worked for Remington Arms. In 1944 she moved to Rich1and, where she was employed by Dupont at the Hanford Works Project. Her stay in the Tri-Cities then was brief; on August 21, 1947, she married Charles William Tanner in San Francisco, California. They lived in Richmond, California, until his death in 1960.

Florence was employed at the University of California, Berkeley as a secretary-clerk until her retirement in 1971. She remained in Richmond until 1992 when she relocated to Richland to be near relatives.

The last of her immediate family to die, she was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, two older brothers, Lawrence Baalman and Clarence Baalman, two younger brothers, Raymond Baa1man, Sr. and Richard Baalman, and her younger sister Hilda Baalman. She leaves her stepdaughter Jeanne Seerley of Littleton, Colorado. Two step grandsons, Jeffery and Joseph Seerley, her sister-in-law, Rose Baalman of Richland, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Florence was a member of Christ the King Parish in Richland In Richmond, she attended St. Paul's Catholic Church, where she belonged to the Ladies Aide Society . She will be missed by her family and care-givers, who were always inspired by her patience, cheerful nature, and ready smile.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church on Wednesday, August 7, 2002 at 11:00 am.