1919
Carl
2011
Carl Lee Tanberg
November 12, 1919 — August 17, 2011
Primera:
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 Carl Lee Tanberg ( “Carlos”, “Uncle Crump”, “Gran”) left the world just as he had lived for almost 92 years – with goodwill, patience, and dignity.
Carl Lee died at home in Primera, where he had lived all his life, in the arms of ones who loved him. He was born on November 12, 1919 to Carl Anthon Tanberg and Thea Josephine Lund Tanberg, full-blood Norwegians who had followed the early 1900s land rush from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to the Rio Grande Valley with their first two children. By 1924 they had added six more. Carl Lee was child #6, but at age 13 he lost his mother to malaria after the Hurricane of 1933. Fortunately, several Primera women nurtured and fed the remaining Tanberg children, and Carl Lee loved them for the rest of their days. He graduated from Wilson Tract School in 1936 as a gifted speller and lifelong reader.
Carl Lee served in the Army’s Military Police during WWII, when his travels took him to England, Ireland and France. Returning to the Valley in 1947to farm, he eventually married his 11-years-younger sweetheart, Rita Staton Tanberg of nearby Combes. To prepare for their 1948 wedding, Carl Lee crafted a uniquely beautiful home on Rio Rancho Road made of Mexican brick, bleached pine walls and hardwood floors; there they raised three devoted daughters proud to carry the Tanberg name. Carl Lee and Rita never moved from this precious home and were both able to die within its familiar rooms.
During the early years Carl took on part-time jobs to supplement hard-earned farming income. Later he began collecting and restoring antique farm implements and displayed them at annual livestock shows.
By 1971 he had launched a successful pasture grass planting business called Tanberg Grass Farms. Soon he became known as “the Grass Man” who sprigged improved Bermuda grasses on small pastures as well as large South Texas ranches. Over the years crop-farming gradually gave way to fulltime grass-planting and hay-baling which continued after “retirement” well into his 80s.
We girls cherish memories of accompanying our gentle father on frequent visits to nursing homes, helping deliver gifts of fresh produce, and learning to drive his old standard-shift pickup. Daddy taught us how to mow our large yard and to appreciate the flavors of sugar cane, Mesquite beans, and just-pulled carrots. He welded wonderful monkey bars and swingsets for us, created a tractor-tire sandbox, and built a zipline in the side yard that brought lots of “town kids” our way. He let us swim in canals and pick cotton when we felt like it, then tramp it with bare feet in trailers he pulled to the gin. He took groups of kids on hayrides and was persuaded to hire our high school beaus as “helpers.” Dad taught us the proper way to shake hands while looking someone straight in the eye. He raised us to honor God through service and worship, and he proved his faith through consistent tithing and extra giving—even during the lean times when ten percent wasn’t affordable. He was a lifelong Methodist who trained us to recite the 23rd Psalm and The Lord’s Prayer. He sang “Mares Eat Oats” to us at bedtime and wrote love poems to our mother.
Throughout his long life, Carlos demonstrated quiet respect for his fellow man and generosity beyond counting. In December 2007, after writing monthly donation checks to support worthy causes and charities, Daddy went to fetch firewood and suffered a stroke. Since then, “peaceful, pleasant, and loving” best describe the spirit he maintained even after Rita’s death in June 2010.
Due to his gracious and honest nature, Carl Lee enjoyed countless admiring friends and fond relatives. He outlived his adored wife of 62 years as well as siblings Maurine Litton, Dorothy Robertson, Helen Short, Robert Tanberg, and Norman Tanberg. He is respectfully survived by dozens of admiring nieces and nephews and three adoring daughters – Merrijo Dean, Sally Tanberg, and Lolly (Rick) Burns. He was “Gran” to six beloved grandchildren -- Levi (Brooke) Burns, Carly (Steve) Thomas, Garrett Dean, Holden Wilkie, Brady Dean, and Marit (Jesse) Alba. Carl Lee and Rita also delighted in the world’s four most adorable great-grandchildren – Pike and Ty Thomas, and Beau and Brooklynn Burns. His younger siblings Mary Matz and Walter Tanberg also survive him, as does his dear friend and devoted employee of more than 60 years, Porfirio Estrada.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home (710 Ed Carey Drive in Harlingen). You are invited to the visitation there on Saturday from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm, with family in attendance 6:00-8:00 pm. The memorial celebration of Carl Lee’s remarkable life will begin at 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon at First United Methodist Church (310 East Harrison Street in Harlingen), with a reception to follow immediately in the church’s Raimond Christian Center.
Proudly serving as Carl Lee’s pallbearers are his grandsons, nephews, and Porfirio “Pilo” Estrada.
The family wishes to thank Esther Perez, Nora Zavala, Bea Miranda, Maria Pesina, and Erica Esquivel for their loving faithfulness as caregivers following his stroke. Furthermore, we cannot overstate our appreciation for the excellent support and advice provided by Odyssey Hospice, especially Tami Warren, Louise Reyes, Pete Cerda, and Laurie Pitts.
A few years ago, Carl Lee wrote some of his final wishes. He hoped that, in lieu of floral gifts, memorials would be sent to The Gideons International (www.gideons.org “dedicated to Bible distribution and evangelism”) or Smile Train (www.smiletrain.org “Give a child with a cleft palate a better future for a little as $250”).
Wednesday, August 17, 2011 Carl Lee Tanberg ( “Carlos”, “Uncle Crump”, “Gran”) left the world just as he had lived for almost 92 years – with goodwill, patience, and dignity.
Carl Lee died at home in Primera, where he had lived all his life, in the arms of ones who loved him. He was born on November 12, 1919 to Carl Anthon Tanberg and Thea Josephine Lund Tanberg, full-blood Norwegians who had followed the early 1900s land rush from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to the Rio Grande Valley with their first two children. By 1924 they had added six more. Carl Lee was child #6, but at age 13 he lost his mother to malaria after the Hurricane of 1933. Fortunately, several Primera women nurtured and fed the remaining Tanberg children, and Carl Lee loved them for the rest of their days. He graduated from Wilson Tract School in 1936 as a gifted speller and lifelong reader.
Carl Lee served in the Army’s Military Police during WWII, when his travels took him to England, Ireland and France. Returning to the Valley in 1947to farm, he eventually married his 11-years-younger sweetheart, Rita Staton Tanberg of nearby Combes. To prepare for their 1948 wedding, Carl Lee crafted a uniquely beautiful home on Rio Rancho Road made of Mexican brick, bleached pine walls and hardwood floors; there they raised three devoted daughters proud to carry the Tanberg name. Carl Lee and Rita never moved from this precious home and were both able to die within its familiar rooms.
During the early years Carl took on part-time jobs to supplement hard-earned farming income. Later he began collecting and restoring antique farm implements and displayed them at annual livestock shows.
By 1971 he had launched a successful pasture grass planting business called Tanberg Grass Farms. Soon he became known as “the Grass Man” who sprigged improved Bermuda grasses on small pastures as well as large South Texas ranches. Over the years crop-farming gradually gave way to fulltime grass-planting and hay-baling which continued after “retirement” well into his 80s.
We girls cherish memories of accompanying our gentle father on frequent visits to nursing homes, helping deliver gifts of fresh produce, and learning to drive his old standard-shift pickup. Daddy taught us how to mow our large yard and to appreciate the flavors of sugar cane, Mesquite beans, and just-pulled carrots. He welded wonderful monkey bars and swingsets for us, created a tractor-tire sandbox, and built a zipline in the side yard that brought lots of “town kids” our way. He let us swim in canals and pick cotton when we felt like it, then tramp it with bare feet in trailers he pulled to the gin. He took groups of kids on hayrides and was persuaded to hire our high school beaus as “helpers.” Dad taught us the proper way to shake hands while looking someone straight in the eye. He raised us to honor God through service and worship, and he proved his faith through consistent tithing and extra giving—even during the lean times when ten percent wasn’t affordable. He was a lifelong Methodist who trained us to recite the 23rd Psalm and The Lord’s Prayer. He sang “Mares Eat Oats” to us at bedtime and wrote love poems to our mother.
Throughout his long life, Carlos demonstrated quiet respect for his fellow man and generosity beyond counting. In December 2007, after writing monthly donation checks to support worthy causes and charities, Daddy went to fetch firewood and suffered a stroke. Since then, “peaceful, pleasant, and loving” best describe the spirit he maintained even after Rita’s death in June 2010.
Due to his gracious and honest nature, Carl Lee enjoyed countless admiring friends and fond relatives. He outlived his adored wife of 62 years as well as siblings Maurine Litton, Dorothy Robertson, Helen Short, Robert Tanberg, and Norman Tanberg. He is respectfully survived by dozens of admiring nieces and nephews and three adoring daughters – Merrijo Dean, Sally Tanberg, and Lolly (Rick) Burns. He was “Gran” to six beloved grandchildren -- Levi (Brooke) Burns, Carly (Steve) Thomas, Garrett Dean, Holden Wilkie, Brady Dean, and Marit (Jesse) Alba. Carl Lee and Rita also delighted in the world’s four most adorable great-grandchildren – Pike and Ty Thomas, and Beau and Brooklynn Burns. His younger siblings Mary Matz and Walter Tanberg also survive him, as does his dear friend and devoted employee of more than 60 years, Porfirio Estrada.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Buck Ashcraft Funeral Home (710 Ed Carey Drive in Harlingen). You are invited to the visitation there on Saturday from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm, with family in attendance 6:00-8:00 pm. The memorial celebration of Carl Lee’s remarkable life will begin at 5:00 pm Sunday afternoon at First United Methodist Church (310 East Harrison Street in Harlingen), with a reception to follow immediately in the church’s Raimond Christian Center.
Proudly serving as Carl Lee’s pallbearers are his grandsons, nephews, and Porfirio “Pilo” Estrada.
The family wishes to thank Esther Perez, Nora Zavala, Bea Miranda, Maria Pesina, and Erica Esquivel for their loving faithfulness as caregivers following his stroke. Furthermore, we cannot overstate our appreciation for the excellent support and advice provided by Odyssey Hospice, especially Tami Warren, Louise Reyes, Pete Cerda, and Laurie Pitts.
A few years ago, Carl Lee wrote some of his final wishes. He hoped that, in lieu of floral gifts, memorials would be sent to The Gideons International (www.gideons.org “dedicated to Bible distribution and evangelism”) or Smile Train (www.smiletrain.org “Give a child with a cleft palate a better future for a little as $250”).
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