Nita Tartabini | 32 Years and Counting!

By Miriam Conner

Nita and her late husband, Joe, lived in Independence for 27 years before moving to Walden. They had five kids: Joe Jr., Danny, Ray, George and Lorna. The Tarabinis had been married for over 69 years before Joe passed away in 2022.

An avid tennis player, Joe joined Walden and then became an avid golfer. When Joe and Nita lived in Independence, Joe would come to Walden as often as he could to golf. He tried to talk Nita into moving to Walden but she did not want to move.

About six years after joining Walden and trying to convince Nita to move here, she agreed to come and take a look with Manny. They looked at lots and gave Manny a check as a deposit. When they went home, Nita changed her mind! Another year later, Nita said she felt sorry for Joe because he was driving to Waden so often to golf, so she agreed to come and meet with Manny again, who never cashed their check, and start all over again. They finally chose a lot and created plans with Manny. Their home on the lake was built in Deer Island 32 years ago.

Nita ended up loving Walden. She enjoyed spending a lot of time at the Club and participating in different activities there. One of the things she enjoyed the most was having lunch followed by ice cream at the Club. She said that she and Joe did that with friends very often. They were also in a card club at the Club.

Joe continued to golf as much as he could. He was happy to see Nita trying golf for a couple of years, but it wasn't her thing.

Every Saturday, Joe and Nita would go to dinner at the Club with a group of friends. Nita continues to do that with their friends and looks forward to that.

Nita enjoys the landscaping and trees in Walden and the upkeep of the grounds. “When you drive in, it looks so beautiful,” she says.

These days, she also spends a lot of time with her “little buddy,” her granddog Tommy. They take walks together and he likes to follow her around the house all day long.

Nita is thankful that Joe was able to finally convince her to move to Walden 32 years ago.