Donald Wayne (Don) Tatman |
| Posted 2017-07-24 by Judy Wight Branson |
| Camp Verde Bugle, Camp Verde, Arizona Thursday, July 20, 2017 Donald Wayne Tatman “Don” was born in Madison, Kansas on December 18, 1936 to Floyd and Helen (Martin) Tatman. Shortly afterwards they moved to southern CA where Don and his younger brother Roger grew up. His parents divorced a few years after moving to CA. After the war, his mother met and married Joe Hunnicutt, who remained a strong, loving influence in Don’s life. Don graduated from Covina High in 1955, and in 1956 he joined the Air Force. After Basic Training, he went to Tech School in Cheyenne, WY during the winter. He didn’t like it there! His first assignment after that was a year in Thule, Greenland. From there he served in the Spokane area, then on to Okinawa, Japan. After that he was sent to Athens, Greece, where he met and married Malvina Sitara. They had a son, Joe, before Don was reassigned to Glasgow, Montana for a few years. While they were there, daughters Dorothy and Greta were born. Next came Wiesbaden, Germany. Before their furniture even arrived, Malvina was diagnosed with cancer and sent to a military hospital in San Antonio, TX. Don and the kids were reassigned to Randolf AFB just outside of San Antonio. She died about a year later. Don had fallen in love with the Denver, CO area when here was there TDY and asked to be reassigned to Lowry AFB, CO. While there, he got together with a friend from his Athens days, Judith Ann (Jan) Sawyer Billingsley. They got married in August 1970 and began a life as a blended family with Jan’s daughter Kelly Billingsley and Don’s 3 children. Two years later, during the Vietnam War, Don was sent to Ubon AFB, Thailand for a year. He was sent back to Lowry, where he taught computer classes for the supply clerks from around the country. In 1976 he was offered a promotion if he re-enlisted, and would have been sent to Cheyenne. Memories of his time there caused him to turn it down and retire. After that he worked for the US Postal Service for 23 years and retired in 1999. A few days later, he and Jan moved to Cottonwood, but decided on a house in Clarkdale. He talked a lot about how much he loved the area and the people here and began going out to breakfast every morning, where he met a lot of people. He often said he couldn’t think of anyplace else he would rather live. For a few years he volunteered at VVMC, until he began having health problems. His last 6 months were very difficult, and he passed away at Valley View Care, the Hospice house in Cottonwood on July 2. At last he is pain free, and reunited with much of his family. Don was predeceased by his father Floyd Tatman; his mother Helen Hunnicutt; his step-father Joe Hunnicutt; his daughter Rebecca Tatman and his stepdaughter Kelly Billingsley. He is survived by his wife Jan Tatman; son Joe (Erin) Tatman of Westminster, CO; daughters Dorothy (Jason) Carr of Highlands Ranch, CO and Greta (Joe) Novotne of Lehi, UT; brother Roger Hunnicutt of Kingman, AZ; sister Lori (Jeff) Herman of Ballard, CA; 9 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held at Westcott Funeral Home in Cottonwood on Saturday, July 29 at 2:00pm. A reception will be held immediately after the service at the same location. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Don’s memory to either Homes for Our Troops, 6 Main Street, Taunton, MA 02780 or the Verde Valley Humane Society, 1520 W. Mingus Ave. Cottonwood, AZ 86326. An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com Information provided by survivors. |
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