Fannie Tollette

Fannie Mae Gardner was born February 3, 1926, in Miami, Arizona to Edgar and Bertha
Gardner. The fourth of eight children and the oldest girl, she completed her primary and
secondary education in Miami, graduating from Miami High School in 1944. From there,
Fannie moved to Richmond, Virginia and attended Van de Vyver Commercial College
while living with relatives. She completed a two-year program, earned a business
certificate, and returned to Arizona, settling in Phoenix. It was in Phoenix that she met
and fell in love with Ronald Tollette. They married in Lordsburg, New Mexico in 1947
and settled in Indio, California. To this union four children were born, Ronald, Jr.,
Stephen, Cynthia and Loryetta. Fannie was a devoted wife and a committed, but fun-
loving mother who supported her children in all their endeavors. In Indio, Fannie was an
active member of her community.
Committed to the education of her children and others, she served as the first African
American PTA president at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School and worked for
Desert Sands Unified School District as a school bus driver for 27 years. In the
subsequent years, she was often greeted by former student passengers all over town.
Fannie was an excellent cook who for many years hosted the large annual family
Thanksgiving dinner. Fannie was a strong and faithful Christian who was raised Catholic;
in the 1970s, she ultimately followed her husband to First A.M.E. Church Indio where
she served as a loyal member, president of the local Women's Missionary Society and
frequent piano accompanist for the church choir.
Fannie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Ronald Earl and her seven
siblings: four brothers, Fred, Edgar, James, Errol Anthony and three sisters, Inez Cruz,
Eunice Winnell Roberts, and Shirley Lewis. She leaves to cherish her memory her
children Ronald Tollette, Jr. (Maria) of El Paso, Texas; Stephen Tollette (Wynn) of 29
Palms, California; Cynthia Brooks (Willie) of Charlotte, North Carolina and Loryetta
Council of Inglewood, California; her niece Freda Turner; sisters-in-law Loretta Gibson,
Alice Gardner, and Sheila Berry; ten grandchildren Jason Tollette, Willie Brooks, III
(Teishana), Stephen Tollette, Jr. (Steffenie), Isaac Gaeta-Tollette (Joshua), Nicholas
Tollette (Hillary), Julian Council (Myiesha), Kelly Tollette, Samuel Tollette, Marisa Council
and Evan Council; 19 great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, other
relatives, and friends.