Alma Merl Tanner

A service for Alma Merl Tanner, 89, a Yerington resident for 53 years, will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the LDS Church, Yerington Ward.

Mr. Tanner died Aug. 14, 2005, at his home. He was born April 21, 1916, in Oakley, Idaho, to Raphael Alva and Julia Etta McLaws Tanner.

As a young man, he worked on family farms in Oakley and Declo, Idaho, while attending local schools.

He worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps in Atlanta, Idaho, in the 1930s learning equipment operation and construction skills while working on national forest lands. He worked on a variety of construction and mining jobs in the West until he was inducted into the U.S. Navy in 1943. He was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Area Fleet based on Treasure Island and served in the Pacific Islands during World War II, most notably Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.

Mr. Tanner married Sybil Matheson on March 25, 1951. They moved from Cedar City, Utah, to Yerington in 1952 where he was one of the first employees hired by the Anaconda Copper Co. to begin operations at the new mine at Weed Heights. He worked as equipment operator, mine foreman and road foreman until the mine closed, and he retired in 1979. He later worked for the Walker River Irrigation District in Yerington.

He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held many positions, including the first Bishop of the Yerington Ward for five years, He was instrumental in construction of the first phase of the Yerington Ward chapel.

Among his survivors are his wife of 54 years; son and daughter-in-law Gregg and Joanne of Fallon; daughter and son-in-law Katherine and Robert Arigoni of Yerington; son and daughter-in-law Raymond and Rebecca of Gooding, Idaho; grandchildren Summer Kay of Fernley, Amber Kay of Reno, Erin Tanner of Arlington, Va., Nathan Tanner of Reno and Jennifer Tanner of Twin Falls, Idaho.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lyon County Museum in Yerington. Freitas Rupracht Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.