Tamara Jane (Lano, Hughes) Berry was born August 27, 1948 to Jane Maurer and William Lano in Port Clinton, Ohio. Tami’s father died in a tragic construction accident before her second birthday. She and her older brother, Terry, were adopted by Jane’s second husband, Bert Hughes. Bert’s employment moved them to Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, and back to Connecticut, where Tami attended Rippowam High School. Always an overachiever, Tami skipped a grade and graduated with her older brother in 1965.

Tami finished three semesters at Ohio Wesleyan University and spent a summer in England as an au pair before marrying Richard George Berry, Jr. on August 31, 1968. Rick served in the Army and the young couple was stationed in Germany when they met missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tami quickly converted to the Church and her testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ was her rock during the various hardships of life. Tami and Rick were sealed in the Swiss temple a year after their LDS baptism and shortly thereafter moved to the Bay Area of California, where their first child, Richard III, was born.

The Army then moved the Berrys to Indiana, where Rachel, Regan, Ranell, and Ren were born. Motherhood became and remained Tami’s true passion. When her husband left her to raise the five kids on her own, Tami persevered with valiant faith, relying on the Lord and the help of many friends. Setting an example for her children, Tami returned to college and graduated Valedictorian of Indiana University’s School of Education on Mother’s Day, 1989.

Tami’s career was serving her children and the Church, with any paying jobs clearly junior to those callings, however, a favorite saying was “anything worth doing is worth doing right.” That work ethic and her natural cheerfulness found her many regular customers through 25+ years of being a cashier, including the morning drive-thru at McDonalds (where many dogs would come visit for the treats she supplied) and later in the food court at IKEA, which she retired from in 2021.

Tami promised her daughters she would drop everything and come help if they had twins. After 32 years in Indiana, she made good on this promise by joining Regan in Utah in 2005. Rachel then had her own twins in 2008, and although Tami remained in Utah thereafter, she always considered herself a Hoosier.

During her “victory lap” stage of parenting, Tami traveled extensively, with trips to China, Egypt, Israel, Italy, and even back to Germany in 2022, along with many stateside adventures to see grandkids, family, and friends. She also had the pleasure of being an ordinance worker in the Jordan River Temple. Unfortunately, Tami’s health turned for the worse later in 2022, but she endured countless procedures with grace and her trademark smile.

Even as her body could no longer heal, Tami’s demeanor remained pleasant, comforted by her faith to be reuniting with her heavenly family, especially her brother Terry, her oldest child, Richard, and her own dear mother Jane. Tami is survived by four children: Rachel Howes, Regan (Ted) Barnes, Ranell (Brian) Williamson, and Ren (Shelley) Berry. Her greatest legacy is her twenty-two grandchildren, who will always remember their Grami Tami with love!