Honey Grove, Texas -- Tanna Gail Carpenter, a mother, wife, sister, aunt and descendent of one of the earliest pioneer families of Fannin county, died February 9, 2025 in her home in Honey Grove, Texas.

Tanna’s early years were spent in Oakdale, Louisiana where she attended high school and played the flute and piccolo in the highly awarded Oakdale High School Band. She graduated high school in 1975 and would go on to graduate from East Texas State University in 1982 with a degree in photography.

Tanna was a lifelong artist, maker and creative spirit. After graduation, Tanna worked at a specialized Dallas photography studio, where she was valued as a skilled developer using original development techniques and technology. She then partnered with her mother, Gail Carpenter, at their women’s clothing boutique, Rhapsody in Rose, in Dallas and Greenville, Texas. During this time Tanna was also creating and successfully selling her own handmade silver and beaded jewelry throughout the country. Eventually Tanna joined her husband, Charlie Gilder, in running their popular punk-dive nightclub in Dallas, The Bar of Soap.

Tanna had her first and only child, Lola Gilder, in 2000 and would return to the Honey Grove area to raise her daughter in the Dial, Texas Community on land originally ceded to her family by the Republic of Texas in 1836.

Tanna never stopped working with her hands. Her free time was spent creating intricate crochet projects, crafting with all mediums and making many precious pieces of jewelry for her family. Tanna was a huge history buff and music lover and would take any chance she had to share her knowledge with others. Her humor and lovingly-eccentric personality will be sorely missed.

Her parents, Gail Bernice Carpenter and James Oscar Carpenter, predeceased her. She is survived by her husband, Charles Gilder of Honey Grove, Texas; and daughter, Lola Lyday Gilder of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is also survived by her sister, Jamie Ann Ferguson of Honey Grove, Texas; her nephew, Nathan Lyday Ferguson and wife Madison Ferguson, their two children Tildon and Truett of Cooper, Texas; and niece Natalie Gail Ferguson of Austin, Texas. Her aunt and uncle, Sandra and Gary Fernandes, live in the Dial Community and her aunt Kaye Skinner lives in the Ivanhoe area. She is also survived by numerous cousins.

A memorial service with interment of ashes will be held March 2, 2025, at Dial Cemetery, beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Online condolences and registry can be made at www.coopersorrells.com