Rowena W. Tankard

Published 2:23 pm Tuesday, June 27, 2023

A graveside service will be held Saturday, July 1 at 11:00 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Bath.  The family will receive friends Friday, June 30, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Paul Funeral Home in Washington, NC.

The following will serve as pallbearers:  Adam Tankard, Will Tankard, Zach Tankard, Skylar Tankard, Tony Mirabella, Tolan Raynor, and Garrison Tremont.

Mrs. Tankard, or ‘Dinky’ as she was known by so many, was born in Beaufort County on July 24, 1932 and was the daughter of the late Merton Earl Woolard and Thillia Boyd Woolard.   Mrs. Rowena was married to the late Thaddeus Earl Tankard Jr. of Bath and was a wonderful mother and mother-in-law to four children and their spouses: Thaddeus Earl Tankard III and Treva Lee Tankard, Harvey Wayne Tankard (deceased) and Sandra Ambrose Tankard, William Keith Tankard and Yvonne Boyd Tankard, and Rowena Tankard Bitar and William (Bill) Bitar.

Mrs. Tankard was a 1950 graduate of Bath High School. She married her sweetheart, Thad Tankard Jr, May 28th of that same year. After some time in Virginia, they settled in Bath and raised four children.  Mrs. Rowena loved the Lord Jesus and made sure she passed on that spiritual heritage to all her family. During her lifetime she taught Sunday school, was a substitute teacher for several years and was an important part of her husband’s farming operation. She was ‘MeeMama’ to all her grandchildren and great grandchildren who loved her dearly and had many ‘playful’ times with her.  Mrs. Tankard was also a member of the Gideons’ Auxiliary, Womens’ AGLOW, Bath Olde Towne Book Club as well as the Red Hat Club.

She was blessed with nine grandchildren: Tara Louise Tankard Garrett (deceased), Adam Tankard, Zach Tankard, Ginger Louise Tankard Mirabella, all of Bath.   Will Tankard of Holly Springs, Skylar Tankard of Raleigh, Roxanne Louise Tankard Raynor of Asheville, Gretchen Louise Bitar Tremont of Durham and Victoria Rowena Bitar of Greenville. Mrs. Rowena was also abundantly blessed with 13 great grandchildren.

Mrs. Tankard is survived by one sibling, Samuel Reubin Woolard and preceded in death by four siblings: Grace Welti, Dora Dana, Dalton Ray Woolard and Merton Earl Woolard.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Gideons International at https://www.sendtheword.org or mail: The Gideons International Processing Center, PO Box 97251, Washington, DC 20090-7251.

Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.paulfuneralhome.com.

Paul Funeral Home & Crematory of Washington is honored to serve the Tankard family.