James Bernard Tatum
July 24, 1925 Dec. 8, 2020
L i felong McDonald County resident, James Bernard Tatum, died peacefully at his Pineville home on Dec. 8, 2020.
He was born in Carthage, Mo., on July 24, 1925, to James Marshall Tatum and Ruth Bernard Tatum. He attended Anderson schools and in 1942 he left high school early to at t end Wentworth Military Academy.
While attending the University of Arkansas, he received a Congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated in three years into the U.S. Army. He married Kathryn Grace Pickens, a resident of Joplin, in 1948, spending 50 years together until her death in 1997. He retired from the U.S. Army in 1953 returning to Anderson to take over his family’s automobile and farm equipment businesses, Tatum Motor Company. He also embarked on a journey that led to Crowder College opening in 1963. He was elected the first chairman of the board of trustees and served for more than 45 years. He married Margaret Lynn Hills on Jan. 15, 2000, in Southlake, Texas; they traveled the world together.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn; daughter, Susan L. ( David); son, Colonel, USA, ( Ret) James P. (Marla); daughter, Kathy L. Davis; son, David P. (Yuka); stepdaughter, Shannon L. ( Cheri) Wonnacott; stepson, Sean J. Wonnacott; and seven grandchildren.
Crowder College will host a memorial at a date to be determined.
Friends may view and pay respects Thursday and Friday, Dec. 10- 11, 2020, from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the chapel of Ozark Funeral Home in Anderson, Mo. A private burial will follow in the Anderson Cemetery.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Crowder College Tatum Family Scholarship Fund. Donations can be made to the Crowder Foundation, Inc., 601 Laclede, Neosho, MO 64850, or online at www. Crowder. edu/ foundation.
Online condolences: www. ozarkfuneralhome.com.