Paulette Nadine (Stoll) Tarkin

Paulette Nadine Stoll Tarkin, was born November 23, 1974, in Lexington, Nebraska and died April 3, 2025, in Pittsburgh, PA. She was 50 years old.

 Her mother and father are Sherry Stoll and Paul Stoll. Her childhood was spent in rural Cozad, Nebraska with her sister Tiffany. There was never a dull moment, and Sherry and Paul encouraged the girls to participate in whatever they wanted to try. The school year was busy with studies, school activities and friends while the summers were filled with 4-H activities such as sewing, cooking, baking, showing livestock and competing in speaking contests. After high school graduation, Paulette attended Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska and then on to nursing school at Bryan Memorial School of Nursing and completed her registered nursing program with a bachelor's degree. After graduating, she worked as an operating room nurse, first at her alma mater, Bryan, and then as a traveling nurse, taking multiple assignments out of state, including Wilmington, South Carolina, Wichita, Kansas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. She returned to her home state as a traveler at Creighton hospital in Omaha. At that time, she met and married Ivan Tarkin, MD, and they soon welcomed a healthy baby girl, Lily

O.N. Tarkin. Later, Paulette and Ivan went separate ways but continued to parent Lily into the amazing young lady that she is today. Paulette was a talented RN, caring for patients in a variety of settings throughout her career in Pittsburgh. The majority was spent in the nursing specialty that she loved, the operating room. Her last position was as the Operating Room manager at Allegheny General Hospital. She truly enjoyed the high paced ever changing surgical environment and the development of a new culture. She also loved leading others, striving to be the best leader that she could be. Paulette’s life was immersed in family activities. She dedicated most of her time to her daughter Lily. She took every opportunity to enrich Lily’s life to the fullest. She would tell you that her main goal in life was raising Lily. She volunteered for many of Lily’s activities, including leading fundraising for Lily’s high school basketball team. Paulette worked full-time and earned her master’s degree in nursing management. She also found time to work outside, planting many pots of flowers to surround their home each summer. She enjoyed entertaining and hosting family holidays, birthdays, and other events. She had made her home in Irwin with Robert Arbuckle for many years. She also loved to socialize with friends, going to many concerts and other events. On Saturday, February 24, 2024, Paulette had a GI bleed. After a week of testing, she was diagnosed with a cancerous, bleeding duodenal ulcer requiring a twenty-one-hour extensive abdominal surgery. She worked through a tumultuous recovery including 13 sessions of chemotherapy and the grueling task to rebuild her strength. She was determined to beat this horrible disease and continue with her fulfilled life with Lily. 

She celebrated the 2024 Christmas holiday in Nebraska with her family and was looking forward to returning to work at AGH when she began to feel something was amiss. MRI and lab testing revealed a 5-inch ovarian tumor……. the cancer had returned. She bravely faced a resection but was found to have a recurrence of the abdominal carcinoma. Paulette faced the challenge to try to beat this disease once again with the support of Lily and her family. Unfortunately, she could not overcome this horrible disease. She knew that this cancer would take her and was at peace knowing that Lily would be ok with so many friends and family to support her. After a courageous fight she succumbed, surrounded by a grieving daughter and family.

Family and friends will be received from 4 to 8 PM Monday at the LEO M. BACHA FUNERAL HOME, INC., 516 Stanton Street, Greensburg, PA 15601. There will be no formal funeral……just this informal visitation and the casket will be closed. Lily says Mom would not want people to see her now. They should have memories and pictures to remember her. She will then fly to Nebraska and be buried near her grandparents in Cozad. It will be a closed, immediate family only burial. Lily says, “no black clothes.” This is a celebration of Paulette’s life which will continue in a gathering of friends and family on Friday, April 18th at Countryside Venue, 30030 West Reichmuth Road, Valley Nebraska, 68064 at 5 pm. 

“No words can describe or capture the woman my mom was. She was the most beautiful, genuine, loving, caring, passionate person, mother, daughter, and sister. I love my mom more than life itself, always and forever, in this world and the next. I can only strive to be a sliver of the woman she was. She did everything for everyone else, always running around and always needed a project to keep her busy. She was always referred to as the “task master” of our family. She loves going to the movies, playing cards, going out for breakfast, getting her nails done, planting flowers, picking weeds from the yard, floating in the pool, and always loved going out for dinner. Every day she walked out her door, she always looked picture perfect no matter what we were doing that day, whether it was going to work or getting breakfast on Sundays. She wasn’t only my beautiful mother, she was my twin flame, my role model, biggest supporter, and my forever best friend. She was loved by everyone who knew her, and she was a blessing to everyone who knew her. I love you more than you’ll ever know mom and you deserve to be at peace. I’ll see you again one day soon.” Love, Lily.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Reynolds-Love Funeral Home in Lexington is honored to be assisting the family with arrangements. Please share online condolences with the family by visiting: reynoldslovefuneralhome.com