Tome Tanaka was born in Yūbari, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan, on 21 September 1906. Since her birthplace was a mining town, her father worked there as a miner. During the elementary school, she had excellent grades and served as the valedictorian at the graduation ceremony.

After graduating from a teacher training school, she taught at the Yūbari Second Elementary School for 17 years and 4 months. She was admired by many students as a teacher full of humanity. As she left Yūbari, her students saw her off at the station in tears.

In 1939, at the age of 32, she got married. The couple lived in Tokyo for two years while her husband, who was also a teacher, studied at the Tokyo University of Science. In 1945, the couple settled in Miyagi Prefecture. In October 1947, they founded a confectionary company.

On her 102nd birthday, he hometown of Yūbari held a party to celebrate her longevity. About 100 of her former students gathered at the party.

Tome Tanaka passed away in Ōgawara, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, on 28 January 2019.