About Bob
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Bob Tanem Obituary MarinIJ

     At age 90, Bob is a retired retail nurseryman. Up until 1998 he owned and operated Tanem’s Garden Centers in Belvedere and San Rafael/ Santa Venetia. He bought Santa Venetia Nursery in 1961 on a whim and with no experience of the nursery business, except the teachings and love for Gardening that his grandmother and grandfather instilled in him. His Grandmother Sara Conley used to take cuttings and seeds that she would find or ask her neighbors for and created a garden paradise in her home in Sacramento. Bob loved to help her in the garden and his mother and father also had gardens wherever they moved.         Bob spent most of his childhood in Willits, California where his parents lived on a ranch. Yes, Bob learned how to get milk from a cow, get “rid” of cats that over-ran the place and were wild, and how to harvest various meats for cooking and selling during WW2, which were mainly rabbits.

     His father later worked for Safeway and his mother was a nurse. He attended UC Berkeley when he graduated from Willits High School after attending a one room school house in Dos Rios. He met his wife in Berkeley, a Berkeley native, Beverley McDonnell. She became a teacher and they got married in 1954, before he was drafted. He went overseas during the Korean War, serving in Germany. When he came home they decided to start a family and move to Marin County.

     Bill was the first child, then came Kathy, and shortly after, Edie. When Edie was born Bob bought the nursery and became a very well-known nursery owner. Since it was a family business, the whole family worked in the nusery. As soon as the kids could handle watering the plants they started a daily schedual. When Bill came back from College at Davis he worked closely with his father, eventually becoming general manager of the 2 stores and by then Edie decided college wasn't what she wanted and she too came to work for her father mainly at the Belvedere store. Bev kept the books and everything else in line while she still taught at San Rafael High school.

     Scouting was a very large part of Bob and Bev’s extracurricular activities. They both served the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts respectfully as scout leaders. Bev was known as Flaming Arrow because she taught archery at day camps and also consulted for the program. Bob still tries to stay connected and is waiting for his grandson Miguel, to get his Eagle. He, at one time, was the District Commissioner for the Miwok District and received one of Scouting’s highest honors for service, the Silver Beaver in 1986. He has served on the Marin County Commission governing the county fair, parks, and open space. 

     The most beautiful memories come when remembering the Marin County Fair where the whole family worked together to make the flowers look perfect and Bob’s design completed. At the beginning of his fair display career,  the county fair was held at the gorgeous Art and Garden Center in Ross, California. Then it moved to the area at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael just up the road from his first Santa Venetia Nursery. 

      Bill helped his father create a very successful business that turned a profit. At that time the Cove Nursery in Belvedere was up for sale – 1984. Edie was at a crossroads in her college career so she started working at the Belvedere store. Learning from the ground up, she soon became manager, then general manager when Bill left to pursue his career.      Bob is blessed with 4 grandsons. The youngest is now 17, but now he is also a great grandfather with Kathy's son's, Robert's first, Martin and now his second great grandson Dean . Grandfathering has spanned more than 34 years. Bob and Beverley were happily married for over 60 years, when she had another place to be, passing away in 2017.