TATYANA Z. “TANYA” IOFFE (nee KAPLAN), 62, of Highland Park, IL , with close family by her side, passed away late Tuesday night, January 10, 2012, in Highland Park Hospital after finally succumbing to breast cancer that she courageously fought for over 21 years.

Tanya was born January 22, 1949, in Riga, Latvia, a second of three kids to Zalman Yermovich Kaplan and Rose Meerovna Zaretskaya. On May 3, 1969, in Riga, Latvia, she married Michael “Motik” Ioffe. Tanya had a bachelor degree in electrical engineering and worked in that field.

On August 5, 1992, the Ioffe family with their two kids immigrated to Cleveland, OH. Despite battle with breast cancer, Tanya was dedicated to learning. She mastered English, earned an associate degree in AS/400 programming and was working full time in that field. In 2003, Tanya and Michael moved to suburbs of Chicago, IL to help raise their grandchildren.

Tanya loved to travel. She visited Israel numerous times, many different parts of former Soviet Union, Egypt, Canada and has been all over United States. Tanya also loved to cook; some of her specialties were Russian beet “Vinegret” salad, chicken “Olivie” salad, and apple pie. However, most of all, she loved to spend time with her grandchildren; she was interested in anything and everything about them, no matter how big or small.

Survivors include her husband for 42 years Michael Ioffe; daughter, Luba (Ilya) Brin, of Buffalo Grove, IL; son Robert (Ellen) Ioffe of Portland, OR; sister Berta (Mikhail) Krasner of Ofakim, Israel; brother Semeon Kaplan of Cleveland, OH; 5 grandchildren: Daniel, Avraam, Josephine, Michael, and Celine; nephews, nieces and cousins.

Sunset Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Mitzvah Memorial Funerals.