Lost my Grandma Tess, this morning. I couldn’t help but think about this picture. Together again with her three boys, including Dad, who we lost last year, my Uncle Gary, who we lost two years prior, and my Uncle Timmy, who we lost in 1981.
Tessie Eleanor (Bloss) [Hartman] Orlando, 84, of Madeira Beach, Florida passed away July 16, 2012 at Mortan Plant Hospital in Clearwater, Florida. She was born on December 24, 1927 in Warren, PA, daughter of Harry James Bloss, Sr. and Freda Marie (Gertsch) Bloss. Tessie was a loving, compassionate person and was known for her sense of humor and spit-fire personality. She was the owner of Church Lane General Store in East Brunswick, NJ for 15 years. She and her husband Everett Stephen Orlando moved to Madeira Beach in 1995. Tessie was an avid reader and had read hundreds of books before being diagnosed with Temporal Arteritis in 2010, rendering her 100 percent blind. Her love of reading continued through the help of the Pinellas Talking Book Library, which sent her digital audio books with a special audio book player free of charge to listen to through the last 18 months of her life. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her beloved sons, Timothy Clayton Hartman, his twin (lost at birth), Gary Steven Hartman and Brad Evan Hartman, their father Harry Clifton Hartman, Jr., her sisters Virginia Barbara Bloss, Gertrude “Trudy” Mae (Bloss) Valvo and brother Harry James Bloss, Jr. Surviving are husband Everett Stephen Orlando, son Richard Alan Hartman, sister Mary Joyce (Bloss) Meadows. She also left many grandchildren and great grandchildren. Tessie loved her family and her life and enjoyed it to the fullest. She will be greatly missed. A celebration of her life will be held at Lewis W. Mohn Funeral Home in Seminole, FL on Saturday, July 21 from 12 to 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to be made in her memory to “Lighthouse of Pinellas,” 6925 112th Circle, #103 in Largo, FL 33773, phone number 727-544-4433 or the “Pinellas Talking Book Society for the Blind and Handicapped” pplc.us/tbl/links.shtml. Thank you all for the prayers and support through this very difficult time. She stayed as long as she could here with us after becoming blind. She was a very strong woman and endured much pain in her life. Even though things were tough, she kept her fun spirit and always tried to help others as best she could. She will never be forgotten. In appreciation and love, The Hartman Family
Pictured from left to right, Timmy, Tess, Gary and Brad
