Tamara Delany (Griffin), age 61, of Luck Wisconsin, passed into an eternal life with the Lord on September 20th 2025.

Tamara Delany will forever be defined by her love for everyone through her love for Christ. Her perseverance and strength through reliance on Jesus is a testament to her faith that encompassed her life.

Throughout her life Tamara loved learning. She loved finding and understanding how everything worked. Her love for learning, pushing, and crafting her to become a great teacher. Watching others learn and understand was such a joy for Tamara, seeing her students share her love for learning fulfilled her and pushed her to continue to become a better educator. She loved sharing the creation of the world around her. Her favorite subject to teach being science, followed closely by reading. To be able to read is to be able to understand the world around them, and science is learning the world around us.

Tamara was always known for her heart, her compassion evident since childhood. Often Tamara’s love extended beyond other people to the animal world as well. A pumpkin seed fish living in the tub for a time during her childhood, a horse named Mairead, a baby bird rolling around on the highway named pipsqueak, countless dogs through her rescue (Black Pearl Dogs), even a butterfly with a deformed wing and so much more. Her love for God’s creation always being her ministry as she nursed animals back to their health and protected as many as she could.

Her strong love and compassion was exemplified through her husband James Delany. Their relationship in her own words: Jim met and married Tamara Griffin after five years of meeting her his first day on the campus of UW-River Falls. Tamara was working the residence hall check-in table for pre-season football and Jim was there to play as a freshman. Over a course of chance meetings, spanning five years, they began to date in January of 1990, became engaged January 31, 1991 and married August 3rd of the same year. They became the couple that most people said “you are the perfect couple and you are the most fun to be around.” They would equally share wide grins, lots of laughter and witty humor often using movie line quotes for intonation i.e. "have fun storming the castle" when walking out the door for work. Jim loved to write notes and hide them around the house for Tam to find and he loved her till she was convinced of it through and through, and then loved her more, something she had never experienced in any other relationship. His children always knew that even though marriage had its ups and downs the love and commitment always became deeper as a result of them.

After the passing of her husband James, Tamara never remarried. When asked she would reply “He was it for me.”

With James, Tamara had two children, Mike and McKenna. Tamara was never more proud of anyone than of her children, who were her first priority. She pushed them to become the best versions of themselves that they could be, and always supported their dreams. Being a stay at home mother was her favorite job, getting to spend time with her children, teaching them and sharing God’s creation. Her children were her greatest joy, and she loved them more than anything. Teaching them with her husband to grow in their own faith in Christ and to follow the Lord. A lesson shared when James was first diagnosed and throughout the fallout of his death is F.R.O.G. An acronym to Fully Rely On God. She was a devoted mother, taking time to craft special moments and loving fully.

Tamara was known for beautiful photography and elegantly crafted words. Her Caring Bridge page made for James, lengthy Christmas letters updating about the family, and even just a text or Facebook post always made an impact as she had such a way with words. Her pictures capturing the world that she cherished so dearly. Tamara encouraged anyone to create and bring imagination to life.

The curiosity for life and the world around her weaved throughout all the aspects of her life. She had many hobbies and interests solely because she loved the process. Learning a new craft, finding new ways to improve herself, and perfecting it. When learning how to make sourdough bread a phrase often shared if the bread wasn’t quite perfect yet: “it’ll make good toast.” Because any bread will make good toast. Tamara persevered through anything, and her hobbies were no different.

Despite health problems and constant obstacles Tamara was always thankful for life and the blessings God gives. One of her favorite holidays was Thanksgiving, a holiday she thought often got overlooked in favor of Halloween or Christmas. Tamara always wanted to take the space to truly be thankful for the life God had given her, and reflect on all the ways that despite the world being an evil place, God blesses us everyday. A song often played during the holiday was Count Your Blessings from the film White Christmas.

An encouragement in honor of Tam: try out the new recipe, start the book, go out and learn. Find that spark that she always brought and enrich the beautiful life full of blessings from the Lord and try it for yourself.

A celebration of life will be held on October 11th at Hope Community Church in Cumberland WI. Visitation from 12-2pm and Service from 2-3pm. A meal will not be provided but snacks will be available.

Last Update: Oct 01, 2025 8:30 am CDT