Tonya L. Mapes

Tonya Lynn Hanika Mapes, 60, lovingly known as Toni, passed away on May 9, 2026 at a local hospital. She was born on December 23, 1965, to Kenneth Hanika and Lois Cooney Hanika Miller at St. Mary’s Hospital in Nebraska City, Nebraska. A celebration of her life will be held at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 at Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City. Visitation will be from 4-7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Toni’s early life was full of movement, adventure, and stories that would become part of her family’s history. As a baby and through her toddler years, she traveled with her family and the Thomas Carnival until they settled in Auburn, Nebraska, in 1969. She attended school in a one-room schoolhouse before moving with her family to Blair, Nebraska.

During the summers, Toni and her sisters walked the bean fields around Thurman, Iowa, pulling weeds by hand. As a child, Toni loved to read and earned many free pizzas from Pizza Hut, along with ribbons for her achievements. She also loved riding her bicycle, though one memorable fall caused a head injury and left her wearing a football helmet for several months, a story her family would never forget. Toni shared a special bond with her father. One cherished memory was the day she spent with “her daddy” at Studio Academy in Blair, Nebraska, where he attended college for commercial art. While there, Toni freehand drew the Shakey’s Pizza Man, a drawing her father proudly kept in his heart for many years.

In 1972, Toni’s family moved to Sioux City. She attended Sioux City Baptist Church, where she accepted Jesus as her Savior, and she was baptized on April 16, 1976. As a teenager, Toni’s first job was at Tastee's In & Out. She graduated from East High School in 1984 and later continued her education at Stewart’s School of Beauty in 1990. She brought her own skill set to a few different jobs around Sioux City in her adult life, but only chose to use her education for the fun of cutting and styling hair. Later in life, Toni found happiness in the people, places, and little routines that made each day feel familiar and full. She loved spending time with her two dogs, being with her grandchildren, and trying her luck at hitting it big at the Hard Rock in Sioux City, Iowa and the little casinos in North Sioux City. Most mornings, Toni could be found enjoying breakfast, conversation, laughter, and the usual morning gossip with Pete and their many friends at the local McDonald’s and Burger King.  She was united in marriage to Clarence "Pete" Mapes on June 2, 2010.

Toni is survived by her husband, Pete; her sons, Jason Hanika and his wife Mandy, Adam Topf and his wife Stephanie, Troy Mapes and his wife Jamie, Brandon Mapes and his wife Jenny, Jerry Mapes, and Shawn Mapes; her daughter, Teresa Garcia and her husband Ramon; 15 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren; her sisters, Julie Fitzpatrick and her husband Terry, Susie Hanika, Rea Gonzalez, and Gaylene Guevara Meeves; her brothers, Kenny Hanika Jr. and his wife Alexis, John Hanika and his wife Lisa, and Donnie Meeves; along with numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins. 

She was preceded in death by her parents; her stepfather; her sister, Cassandra Hanika; her son, Nickolas Hanika; her grandson, Damien Hanika; her grandparents; several aunts; an uncle; and a cousin.

Toni will be remembered for her love of family, her humor, her stories, and the way she made ordinary moments feel worth gathering around. Her memory will live on in the lives of those who loved her, in every shared laugh, every morning conversation, and every story told around a table where she once sat.