BIOGRAPHY

Tabbert was born as Florence Keech in Batavia, Kane County, Illinois, USA, on 25 December 1878. Her parents were Orlando Keech (1849–1928) and Josephine Anderson (1858–1928). While she was a child, the family moved to her father’s hometown, Madelia, Minnesota. As a young woman, she worked at a bank in Tyler, Minnesota. Since her parents thought she worked too far from home, she moved back to Madelia and took a job as a secretary for a lawyer.

On Christmas Day, 1912, her 34th birthday, she married Albert Tabbert. He was an agent at a railroad depot. The couple lived in several towns and cities in California and Minnesota because of his job. The couple had three children, including a daughter who died in infancy.

Her husband passed away in 1956. In 1963, she moved to Bethany Lutheran Home in La Crosse. In 1982, she moved into Bethany-Riverside when it opened. At the time of her 109th birthday, she had four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Tabbert passed away in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, on 14 March 1990, at the age of 111 years, 79 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Jimmy Lindberg and Daniel Gonik, and validated by LongeviQuest on 1 April 2023.

ATTRIBUTION

* “Happy 99th, and a Merry Christmas” – The La Crosse Tribune, 6 December 1977

* “Christmas baby to be 109 Friday” – The La Crosse Tribune, 20 December 1987

* “One of nation’s oldest citizens dies at 111” – The La Crosse Tribune, 16 March 1990

* Florence C. Tabbert – FindAGrave

GALLERY