Ann Lorraine Tallant

Ann Tallant 
German, tall, midwestern, stubborn…. Ann Tallant arrived on October 13, 1938 to a no doubt
bewildered Florence “Flossie” and Edwin Temme. Ann was the eldest of the three Temme girls,
Ann, Kay, and Sue. She graduated from Central High School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1957
and then went on earn her Bachelors degree in 1961 at Lakeland College where she met
up-and-coming presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and acquired her terrible handwriting.
Defying conventions of the time, Ann earned her Masters in Christian Education at Eden
Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. She was ordained at Ebenezer United Church of Christ by Rev.
Reuben Grosshuesch. In 1963, she was offered the position of Director of Religious Education
at the First Congregational Church in Tulare. She accepted, saying goodbye to the harsh
Wisconsin winters and hello to California sunshine.

It was at the Congregational Church that she met Dale Tallant. She later married him and
became mom to his son, Paul and daughter, Jane. In 1968 they welcomed another daughter,
Jill. Along with an assortment of dogs that came and went, they had their complete family.

Ann spent a good part of her mom years as an Instructional Aide for third graders at Garden
School. She was involved in the PTA, hosted youth group meetings, and spent many years in a
women’s bowling league. When Jill started playing softball, she became a dedicated team mom
and volunteer with the Tulare Bobby Sox. She knitted, crocheted, embroidered,and sewed in her
“free” time.

In 1981 Ann welcomed a daughter-in-law, Kathy, and later that year, her first grandchild, Daniel.
Sadly, two years after that, she lost Paul in a freak accident. Jill passed away two years later.
And yet she stood tall. As tall as she could.

In 1984 she got her favorite son-in-law, Steve. Once again defying convention, Ann struck out
on her own. She bought a home in Visalia and took a job with Good Shepherd group home, as
an aide and job coach for developmentally disabled adults. It was a job she loved. With clients
who loved her just as much as she loved them.

After retiring, Ann really began enjoying time with her friends and traveling. Trips to the coast
were always a favorite and her trip to Scotland was a bucket-list event. A visit to Wrigley Field in
1999 allowed her to finally see her beloved Cubbies in person. She absolutely loved her book
clubs, both the one that actually read the books, and the one that didn’t. Before the dark days of
Covid, she and her good friend, Sylvia Streeper, could be found almost daily at the Panera on
Mooney, reading, sipping coffee, and working Sudoku puzzles earning Ann the nickname “The
Mayor of Panera”.

Two of Ann’s greatest joys were her granddaughter Paige who completely got into Ann’s
passion for baseball card collecting, and later, her great grandson Rory.
Ann’s stubbornness really showed itself as she battled breast cancer. She fought hard and won
the initial battle. In the end though, cancer won the war. Ann died at home, peacefully, on March
18th. She was 85 years….seasoned. Never old.

Ann is survived by her daughter Jane (Steve) Machado, granddaughter Paige (Zach) Martin,
grandson Daniel Tallant, great grandson Rory Martin, sisters Kay Hemb and Sue (Delmar)
Riesterer, and nephew Todd (Carla) Hemb.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Florence and Edwin Temme, son Paul Tallant,
daughter Jill Tallant, and nephew Richard Hemb.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m. at Hadley Marcom Funeral
Home, 1700 W. Caldwell Ave., Visalia. A Rosary will be said for Ann on Monday, March 25 at
5:00 p.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, 125 E. Pleasant Ave., Tulare.