Robert N. Tash

TASH, Robert N., a retired teacher and longtime resident of the Mainlands in Pinellas Park, died Wednesday (Dec. 26, 2012). He was 88. He lived a vigorous life until a stroke in February, and spent his final months at Menorah Manor nursing home in St. Petersburg. Mr. Tash grew up on a farm in Illinois during the Depression, one of six children, and carried with him the values of thrift and self-reliance. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and in the occupation of Japan after the war ended. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees at Ball State Teachers College in Indiana, and had a long career teaching industrial arts and mathematics, mostly in South Bend. He was talented mechanically and a meticulous craftsman. During many summers, he worked as a carpenter building homes. In 1968, he did most of the work himself on a new home for his own family. He could build or repair most anything, and he was generous with his time and talents for friends and neighbors. After a courtship that started with letters while he was still in the Army, he married Barbara Ruth Eller in 1946. They had two sons. Paul Tash is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Times. Keith Tash was a pharmacist and health care executive before his death in 2010. Barbara died in 1988, and Mr. Tash married Grace Perelka in 1993. She died in 2010. In addition to his son, Mr. Tash is survived by four grandchildren, Kaley, a physician at Duke University Medical Center; Kendyl, a law student at Duke University; Garrett, a junior at Indiana University, and Lauren, a freshman at Bradley University. He is also survived by two sisters, Hilda Dixon of Champaign, IL, and Freda Corson of West Point, IN. Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home is handling arrangements. After a private family service Saturday at Memorial Park Cemetery, Mr. Tash will be reunited with Barbara, his first love and the mother of his sons.