Madeline Barbara Tierney

Madeline Barbara Tierney died peacefully in her sleep on December 26, 2020, in Sonoma, California, just five days short of her 101st birthday.
She is survived by her five children: Maureen, Robert, Patricia, and Jim Tierney (Luanne), and her first-born Vin Howell (Pam), who she was reunited with in 2015; and four grandchildren: Sean Fricke, Ryan and Lauren Tierney, and Brendan Tierney. She was predeceased by her stepson Tim Tierney.
Born Madeline Barbara Keller on December 31, 1919, in Milbank, South Dakota, she was one of five surviving children of Lawrence and Philomena Keller. After the death of her mother when Madeline was eight years old, she lived for a time with the hospital nuns in Milbank until her father remarried and the family moved to Odessa, Saskatchewan, Canada.
During World War II, she made her way to San Francisco. She held a variety of jobs during the war, including positions as a control assembler at General Electric and a chauffeur in the Central Motor Pool of the U.S. Army. She later married Roy Tierney. After the birth of her children, she worked for many years at the American Cancer Society in San Francisco.
Madeline was active for many years in the St. Francis Solano Altar Society and loved the 30 plus years she lived in Sonoma. She was a valued friend to many, but her proudest accomplishment was being a mother and grandmother. She was a role model for aging with grace, dignity, acceptance, and humor.
The Tierney family wishes to thank her caregivers at the Sonoma Hills Retirement community and Hospice by the Bay.
A private graveside service was held at St. Francis Solano Cemetery on January 7. A memorial mass will be held at a later date.

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