Penny Michaels Tashnick, 82, passed away July 5, 2024.  She was born on July 31, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois to Everett Michaels and Bertie (Elledge) Michaels. Penny married the love of her life, Anthony Tashnick Jr., on September 8, 1962, in Highland Park, Illinois. Penny was very family oriented, she was happiest when she was with her family.

She was incredibly artistic, a skill that helped her make beautiful floral arrangements where she worked at Chelsea Flowers in Ann Arbor. Penny loved making personal and creative birthday cards for her family and friends. She was an amazing cook, specializing in a fabulous array of cookies and sweet treats at Christmastime that her family and friends would look forward to every year. Penny was deeply loved by her family and will be greatly missed.

Penny will be missed by her husband, Tony Tashnick; her children, Laura (Brian) Shields, Dana Tashnick; sister, Linda Michaels; grandchildren, Danielle (Chadwick) Sealey, Larissa (Scott) Dixon, Anthony Eibler, Luke Eibler; great grandchildren, Dublin Sealey, Madison Dixon, Genevieve Dixon, and Clayton Dixon. She is preceded in death by her parents, Everett and Bertie Michaels.

Penny’s family and friends will gather together at a later date to be determined.

Mary Beth Cohn adds:

Penny was my good friend for many years. We met in junior high and became close friends in high school, where we teamed with Carolyn Thorsen and Judy Pettingell. We cruised highway 41 in Carolyn's convertible and on many a weekend night we joined other classmates for Cokes, etc., at Hal's.

And then we went off to the University of Michigan, where Penny's degree was in geeneral studies and mine was in English literature. We lived in the same dorm our freshman year and became lifelong friends with each other's roommate. Penny dated the jocks and ended up marrying Tony Tashnick, Michigan's star swimmer on its championship team. Penny is survived by Tony and their two girls, now very lovely women.

We have stayed in contact over the years and I will very much miss her dry wit and lasting friendship.