Tanya Marie Willard

Tanya Marie (Ruff) Willard passed away on December 8, 2025 after a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

Tanya was born on October 14, 1959 in Minneapolis, MN to Jack and Nellie (Moriak) Ruff. She enjoyed playing the flute in high school as well as her job in the boys clothing department at the Montgomery Ward department store. In 1977 she graduated from Cooper High School in New Hope. The early years of her adult life were spent living with her sister Carla and working as a pharmacy technician at North Memorial Hospital.

On September 11, 1982, she married her best friend, Lloyd Willard, in Winona, MN. Tanya and Lloyd bought their first house in Mound, MN, then rented briefly in Elk River before moving to their farm in Miltona in May of 1989.

Tanya managed her growing household and along with Lloyd, became involved at First Baptist Church in Parkers Prairie. Many lifelong friendships developed out of this community. Over the years, Tanya supported Lloyd as he founded and ran multiple businesses at the farm. Tanya and Lloyd had six children. Tanya homeschooled her children for 22 years and was active in the local homeschool community. Tanya later worked on the cooking team and as a paraprofessional for Parkers Prairie Public Schools and volunteered with the Parkers Prairie Food Shelf.

Tanya considered her relationship with the Creator to be the foundation of her life. She was a caring friend and a wonderful mother who went to great lengths to support and love the people in her life. Her interests varied over the years. Tanya enjoyed crocheting, sewing, photo albums, gardening, reading, traveling, puzzles, and making soap. She loved puttering around outside, especially in the fall when she relished clearing brush and having big bonfires. She treasured her time with Lloyd, her children, five young grandchildren, siblings, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Lloyd, father Jack, and mother Nellie, as well as her in-laws Kenneth and Mary. She is survived by six children, five grandchildren, her siblings, and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial donations to the CentraCare Foundation/Gorecki Guest House or the American Cancer Society.

In remembrance of Tanya’s life, Visitation will be held at Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria, Minnesota on December 19, 2025, starting at 4:00 PM and concluding at 7:00 PM. The following day, December 20, 2025, there will be a visitation at Grace Christian Church in Parkers Prairie, Minnesota from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM, leading directly into a memorial service that will honor Tanya’s memory at 11:00 AM.