Mary Ann "Tanny" Flood

Passed away at Naples North Community Hospital in Naples, Florida on September 8, 2019 after a brief illness. She was 93 years old, a 20-year snowbird resident and a 5-year full time resident of Naples, Florida.

Tanny was born May 28, 1926 in Chicago, Illinois, and was the pride and joy to her father, Dr. Lemuel E. Day, a beloved physician, and Lucile McCurdy Day, a nurse and homemaker.

She attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, earning a Bachelor of Science degree. Tanny then attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and earned a graduate degree in physical therapy. After graduating she worked as a registered physical therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah and eventually San Francisco, California. Tanny loved her physical therapy career, practicing for more than 45 years. She specialized in polio, geriatric and veterans care.

In the summer of 1958, Tanny relocated back to Chicago to marry her childhood best friend, John “Jack” Flood. They settled in the north shore community of Wilmette and soon after having two children, Ann and then David, moved to the quaint village of Lake Bluff.

Tanny was active in her Lake Bluff community as a cub scout den mother and sang tenor in the choir at Grace Methodist church. She loved the great outdoors and enjoyed swimming in Lake Michigan, hiking in the ravines and family camping outings. She continued practicing physical therapy part-time for private patients and eventually full time at a nearby Veterans Administration Hospital after Jack passed away in 1980.

Throughout her life she was athletic, outgoing, enjoyed classical music—particularly opera, photography and bird watching. For Tanny the glass was never half empty it was always full. With a magnetic, wide smile, enthusiasm for the simplest things in life, of nature and her faith in God, she will be mostly remembered for her generous, open heart. She had the uncanny ability to make anyone feel special just by being in her presence.

Tanny spent her retirement years with close friend and nature enthusiast, Patricia McMaster, also a physical therapist. During the summer months, Pat and Tanny resided in a country home with acreage in a rural area of southwestern Wisconsin, and their winters in warm and sunny Naples, Florida.

Tanny is survived by daughter Ann (Becky Liscum) of Oak Park, Illinois, daughter-in-law Masako Wada and granddaughter, Maya, of Seattle, Washington. She is also survived by extended family members and countless friends. Tanny was proceeded in death by her husband Jack, beloved son David, and twin brothers Giles and Leonard Day.

A Celebration of Life service in Naples and also Lake Bluff are being planned for this fall. Email [email protected] for dates and details.