Ermaline Trefz Hannum passed away quietly in her sleep at the age of 102 on Nov. 22, 2020, at Silver Springs senior living community in Green Valley, Arizona.
The eldest daughter of Cecil Bamford Trefz and Ocie (Thoroman) Trefz, she was born Aug. 1, 1918, in a small village in southern Ohio. She grew up and attended school in Peebles, Ohio, graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a degree in Education, then obtained her Master’s Degree from the University of Wisconsin. She was a first grade teacher in Indiana and Ohio for 45 years, retiring from the Upper Arlington, Ohio school district in 1983. Many of her grateful students and their parents corresponded with her over the years which she enjoyed enormously.
Ermaline and her husband the Reverend William J. (Jack) Hannum moved to Green Valley in 1984 and Ermaline energetically volunteered at the local library and Continental Elementary School, tutored immigrants in English, which she continued for many years, and was active in Southside Presbyterian Church and Primavera in Tucson. Over the years she was an involved member of the Cactus Wren Chapter of American Needlepoint Guild (and helped on the beautiful needlepoint panorama hanging in the Joyner-Green Valley library), Hi Fi Financial Club (president), League of Women Voters, and the Green Valley Democratic Club. She and Jack were honored as Green Valley volunteers of the year during the 1990s, and Ermaline was personally recognized in 2006 by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano for her efforts as membership chair of the Green Valley Democratic Club.
Her husband, Jack, preceded her in death in 1997. She is survived by her stepson Bill Hannum and his wife Pat Meyers of Green Valley; nephews, James Wittenmyer, John Wittenmyer, and Robert Wright; a niece, Suzanne Shaffer; and several grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
Ermaline was one of those very few people who didn’t seek recognition for her efforts, and truly lived not for herself, but for the many she helped in so many ways over so many years. As a friend put it, “She is my inspiration; I want to age like Ermaline.”
If you wish, a contribution in her memory may be made to the Southside Presbyterian Church (P.O. Box 27640; Tucson AZ 85726) or to a charity of your choice.
A memorial service will be held in the future at the Southside Presbyterian Church.
