Those left to cherish Marianna’s memory are her husband of 22 years, Wallace Primeaux of Broussard; her two daughters, Cynthia Lynn Sellers and her husband Paul of Abbeville, LA. and Sylvia Beth Tanner Broman and her husband Karl of Butler, TN.; her three sons, Robert Owens Tanner Jr. and his wife Toni, of Tomball, TX., Lawrence Wayne Tanner of Hagerville, TX., and Marcus Dyson Tanner and his wife Colette of Lake Charles, LA.; one brother, James Larry Dyson of Lake Charles, LA.; nine grandchildren, Michael Sellers and his wife Erica of Tomball, TX., Alyssa Sellers of Portland, OR., Brandon Tanner of Houston, TX., Holland Butler and her husband David of Tomball, TX., Andrew Tanner of Houston, TX., Emily Tanner and her husband Matt Broussard of Lake Charles, LA., Aaron, Benjamin and Colin Tanner of Lake Charles, LA.; and five great grandchildren, Claire and Macie Sellers, Conrad, Lucy, and Caleb Butler all of Tomball, TX; as well as six stepchildren, Darwin Gale Primeaux and his wife Linda, Glen Primeaux and his wife Vivian, Becky Primeaux, Jan Gaudin and her husband Mark, Chuck Primeaux, and Jonathan Primeaux and his wife Janie; and longtime family friend Mary Jones.
She was joined in heaven by her first husband, Robert Owens Tanner, Sr.; her parents, Alvin and Allie Dyson; her sisters, Gay Reeves and Lynn Catrambone; and a great-grandchild, Chloe Anne Sellers.
The family requests that a time of visitation and remembrance be observed on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 from 8:30 am until time of service, 10:00 am, at the First Baptist Church in Lafayette, LA. Rev. Bert Langley will officiate with the participation of Rev. Lloyd Carroll. Graveside service will take place following the services at 2:00pm at the First Baptist Church Cemetery in Cameron, LA., with Rev. Lloyd Carroll officiating.
Pallbearers will be grandsons Michael Sellers, Brandon Tanner, Andrew Tanner, Aaron Tanner, Benjamin Tanner, Colin Tanner, David Butler, and Matt Broussard.
Born in Abbeville, LA, just before the Great Depression began, Marianna moved with her family to Cameron Parish as a small child. The family lived in a trapper’s camp at Bayou Becone for one winter before settling in the town of Cameron. She attended Cameron Elementary school and graduated from Creole High School and completed four years of higher education at Louisiana College before marrying Bob Tanner, of Hagerville, TX.
The couple raised five children in Cameron during their 44 years of marriage. Marianna was active in the community. She was the leader of a Camp Fire Girls group, taught Sunday School and sang in the choir at the First Baptist Church, of which she was a charter member. She was a 50-year member of Thelma Hackett Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, serving as Worthy Matron for 23 of those years, and served on the Cameron Parish Tourist Commission and the Cameron Parish Chamber of Commerce board.
Marianna taught one year of first grade at Cameron Elementary School, establishing a class garden there. After completing her degree in education at McNeese State University, she taught English and Home Economics at Johnson Bayou High School in the 1970’s. She was famous for her lemon meringue pies, which were always in demand at the Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival. She taught her daughters and grandchildren how to make them, but no one else could master her technique.
Marianna loved gardening, growing both vegetables and flowers, and she really loved birds. As a member of the Louisiana Ornithological Society, she helped organize the group’s Spring and Fall meetings in Cameron for many years, receiving the President’s Award for her years of service. Hummingbirds were her special interest. She planted her yard with hummingbird attracting plants and was so successful that she became known as the Hummingbird Lady of Cameron. Expert banders came to her house to trap and band the tiny creatures, and birders would stop by her house all through migration season to see her birds.
After Bob died, Marianna remained a widow for four years before marrying her high school sweetheart Wallace Primeaux, Jr., also recently widowed, in June 1999. As he was pastor at Esther Baptist Church, she began a second life as a pastor’s wife. She sang in the First Baptist Church of Lafayette choir at Christmas time and performed with the Louisiana Baptist Singing Women. Marianna was loved by all who knew her, and her presence will be sorely missed by her family and many friends.
