Delia Jane Tankard

Delia Jane Tankard died peacefully at home on June 21, 2023. Visitation will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 28, followed by Mass at 11 a.m., at Curé of Ars Catholic Church, 9401 Mission Rd., Leawood, Kan.

Delia was born May 7, 1933, to Francis (Frank) and Mary Helen (Mamie) Harrington, the elder of two daughters. Her parents named her after her grandmothers, who both emigrated from Ireland along with their husbands and settled in Kansas City. She grew up in a two-bedroom bungalow south of the Country Club Plaza near Visitation Catholic Parish, where she attended grade school. She graduated from Bishop Hogan High School and attended Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kan., for two years, completing her education at Rockhurst College and attaining her license as a medical laboratory technician.

At the homecoming football game as a freshman at Mount St. Scholastica, Delia ran into a handsome man in monk’s clothing whom she had known from Bishop Hogan (where she had written many of his English papers). Though she did not know it at the time, James (Jim) Tankard left St. Benedict’s Abbey that day. They married in 1953 in San Diego, where Jim was stationed with the Navy, and returned to Kansas City following his discharge the next year. Delia gave birth to the first of six children in 1955, alternating between boys and girls over a span of eight busy years. She worked evenings and weekends while Jim earned his degree on the G.I. Bill. In 1957, she had the privilege of meeting and performing lab work and an EKG for former president Harry Truman.

Jim accepted a job with IBM after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1959 and they moved to Chicago, then St. Louis. There they spent several happy years with their growing family before returning to Kansas City in 1968 and settling in the Brookside neighborhood, where Delia was active with her children’s schools and activities. After all the children were in school, she retrained at KU Medical Center and returned to work part-time. Starting in the 1960s, the family drove each summer to Glen Lake in northern Michigan, where they made lifelong friends. In 1974, they moved to a home in Leawood on a large lot adjoining a pond. Delia lived in this home for the rest of her life and hosted festive gatherings of family and friends for every holiday and occasion, most recently to toast her 90th birthday.

The 1980s were a trying time, as Jim suffered his first stroke in 1980 and died at age 54 in 1986 after several years of declining health. Following Jim’s death, Delia changed careers and became a licensed real estate agent. A self-described shy and timid child, she had by then grown into a strong and outgoing personality and proved to be an excellent realtor for the next 20 years. She was often the top agent for her firm and a regular member of the “million dollar club.”

As her kids grew into grown-ups, Delia embarked on a new hobby: travelling abroad. She delighted in bringing souvenirs to her children and grandchildren from 60 countries on every continent except Antarctica. She kept busy with community groups after retiring from real estate, including book and garden clubs, and she volunteered for several organizations. Her most valued volunteer work was as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for neglected and abused children in Jackson County.

Delia is survived by her children, Timothy (Valerie), Jane (Gerry) Blood, Jim (Susan), Kitty Pattee, Peter (Cassie), and Suzy (Paul) Hanger; 19 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and her sister, Mary Bagan. The family wishes to thank the home health hospice caregivers at Vitas Healthcare of Lenexa, who made sure Delia’s passing was as gentle and dignified as one could hope for. Memorial donations may be made to Jackson County CASA or Vitas Healthcare of Lenexa.