Tina J. Midgarden, 73, of LaVale, passed away on Monday, October 9, 2023 at UPMC Western Maryland hospital with her son Daniel Rose by her side, after a very brief but courageous battle with cancer.

Born on December 27, 1949 in Cumberland, Maryland, she was the daughter of the late James E. "Jim" Midgarden and Helen M. (Marsell) Midgarden. Tina was the oldest of five, and the only child for five years until the birth of her brother, Jim Jr., on her birthday.

Tina was a graduate of Olympus High School and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah where she earned her degree in Elementary Education in 1971. After graduation, she moved from Salt Lake City to LaVale, Maryland. While working at Burger Chef to make enough money to move back to Utah, she met Paul "Pete" Rose and decided to stay in the area. During this time, she also worked at and helped to open the new JoAnn Fabrics store in LaVale Plaza. She began substitute teaching in Cumberland schools, as well as Short Gap, West Virginia, until she gained a full-time teaching position in Accident, Maryland. Tina thoroughly enjoyed teaching, and was very fond of her students. She was, however, less fond of school administration politics, and later stopped teaching in order to start a handcraft consignment business with Pete, traveling around to craft festivals and selling handmade items. Eventually they opened the Magnolia Rustique Craft Shop in Cumberland, which they operated for several years. During that time, their son Daniel was born in 1981, and later that year Tina's mother, Helen, was delighted to buy the business which she continued to operate for over 25 more years. Tina's love of handmade items continued for the rest of her life, and she could often be found at craft festivals in search of "true" handcrafts.

As a single mom, over the next few years, Tina worked several odd jobs in the Cumberland area, and after completing a computer programming course at Allegany College, she landed a job as a mainframe computer operator at Allegany Technology. In April of 1990 she interviewed with Stephen Shade, a small independent window covering manufacturer in Frostburg, Maryland, and was hired to develop their customer service department. She humorously recalled that her first desk there was a cardboard box! A short time later, Stephen Shade was acquired by Hunter Douglas, and thus began the history of the local Hunter Douglas fabrication plant. Tina was an integral part of that history, continuing to build their customer service department, over the course of a 25-year career, into a very large and successful operation. She retired in 2015.

Though not a huge fan of flying, Tina loved to travel. She traveled regularly for Hunter Douglas, visiting a myriad of places along the way- Toronto, Denver, Las Vegas, the Alamo, New Orleans, Orlando and Disney World, The Bahamas and Nassau to name a few. With her son she also took several longer road trips, including a trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and driving tours of Gettysburg, Philadelphia, and Lancaster Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Niagara Falls, New England, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Michigan, Colonial Williamsburg Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in Maine, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Ohio. She also enjoyed spending time at Deep Creek Lake, Maryland. Her most memorable trip occurred in the summer of 1975, when she and Pete took a sightseeing trip across the United States in a VW Campmobile. She would share entertaining stories from this adventure for the rest of her life.

Tina loved holidays. She would decorate the house, as well as her office at Hunter Douglas, for nearly every one, and would usually have a special meal or cookout for each major holiday, and even for some of the minor ones. Her favorite holiday by far, though, was Halloween, and her collection of costumes and decorations was both extensive and amazing. Every year in October her Hunter Douglas colleagues looked forward to her creative themed office decorations and costumes, which were always different, and would gradually build throughout the month, culminating in an elaborate Halloween day presentation. For many years, with the help of her son, she would also set up a complex "haunted porch" at home to delight the neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Tina had a love of music. She played the flute, piano, and a little guitar. She passed on this love to her son Daniel, a trumpet player, and faithfully attended his countless performances. Together, they attended numerous other local concerts over the years.

Tina cared for her parents at the end of their lives, with some help from her son, siblings and others, though she bore the majority of the responsibility. She also helped the family's dear friend and neighbor Marian Bittle, who said she will miss Tina's kindness, thoughtfulness and merry infectious laugh that made everyone feel happy. Anyone who knew Tina would certainly agree.

Tina also served her community. After being affected by the floods of 1996, she began attending and participating in meetings of the Braddock Run Watershed Association (BRWA). Eventually, the BRWA began sharing a combined meeting with the LaVale Civic Improvement Association (LCIA), which Tina also became involved with. For several years, up until just a few weeks before her passing, Tina served as Secretary of the LCIA. She was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in LaVale.

Tina was a very generous person. She gave of herself over and over, time and again to make sure her son had only the best upbringing and always had what he needed. She gave to her coworkers. She gave to her parents. She gave to her community. After her retirement she developed a fondness for the local wildlife, and from then on made it her duty to keep the squirrels and birds well fed. She made regular charitable donations, and she absolutely loved giving gifts to family and friends. Gone too soon, Tina will be deeply missed by all.

Tina is survived by her son, Daniel Rose and fiancé Heidi Killius; two sisters, Lea Anna Midgarden and husband Bob Archibald, and Sara Midgarden and husband Doug Hauke; two brothers, James Midgarden, Jr., and Jon Midgarden and wife Fuchsia Loe; and three nieces, Faith Midgarden and husband Brandon Naperstek, Hannah Midgarden and fiancé Donald Davis, and Emma Midgarden.

Friends will be received at the Scarpelli Funeral Home, P.A., 108 Virginia Avenue, Cumberland on Saturday, October 21st from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. A funeral service will immediately follow at 3:00 p.m. with Rev. Ben Erzkus officiating.

In accordance with her wishes, she will be cremated and entombed in Restlawn Memorial Gardens.

The family would like to extend a huge thank-you to the team of doctors and nurses who cared for Tina at UPMC Western Maryland during the final two weeks of her life; Dr. El Sibai, Emergency Medicine; Dr. Zaman, Oncology; hospitalists Dr. Kooragayalu, Dr. Sayiner, Dr. Jat and his P.A. Alena Weldy; outstanding nurses Kim, Amanda, and Marshall; her Phlebotomist; Linda Krause, Palliative Care; fifth floor Care Coordinator Marie; and generally all staff on fifth and seventh floors, Emergency Department, Oncology, Interventional Radiology, and also the LaVale Volunteer Rescue Squad.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Tina's honor to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org), LaVale Civic Improvement Association (www.lavale.org), or a charity of one's choosing.