W. Earl Tatum

AIKEN, SC- William Earl Tatum was born on September 13th, 1933 to William Clinton Tatum and his wife, Mildred Hall Tatum, in Fort Payne, Alabama. His two older sisters, Mary Ruth Sisemore and Sarah Francis Jagoditsch, both predeceased him, as did his wife of 71 years, Patricia Forrester Tatum, and his youngest son, Paul Daniel Tatum. He is survived by his three remaining children, Judy Lynn Tatum, David Forrester Tatum and his wife Karen Gilley Tatum, and Gregory Hall Tatum, as well as his two granddaughters Julia C. Tatum and Maria E. Tatum. Earl moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee at the age of five. He graduated from Central High School as Class President, and went on to receive his BS degree in Chemistry from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga where he was awarded their highest honor, the Alumni Achievement Award. On his first day in college he met his future wife, Patricia Forrester, whom he married in 1952. In 1958, in a record three years, he received his PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Tennessee Knoxville.

 He was immediately hired by the DuPont company as a research chemist at their Experimental Station in New Castle, Delaware. In 1959 he took a leave of absence for army military duty at Ft. McClellan, Alabama, where he was commander of his basic officer’s corp and was named Outstanding Officer of his class. He quickly attained the rank of Captain.

 Returning to DuPont, he rose rapidly in the company, serving in many different states. By 1970 he had returned to DuPont’s world headquarters In Wilmington, Delaware where he remained until his retirement. He held many positions, including Director of Corporate Environmental Affairs, Health, and Safety, and General Manager of Materials and Logistics. In 1982 he was promoted to Vice President. In 1984 he headed DuPont’s International Division, responsible for its world-wide operations. In 1990 he was made the Senior Vice President of the company, and until his retirement he was responsible for DuPont’s world-wide businesses in Medical Products, Films, and Imaging Systems, and Corian. He served as Chairman of the Board of DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Corporation which had over 5 billion dollars in sales, 31 manufacturing sites, and over 18,000 employees.

 In 1994 the Afro-American employees of DuPont in association with the NAACP awarded him the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for his efforts on behalf of minorities and women. He considered one of his greatest accomplishments to be the establishment of the former hourly employees of the Hotel DuPont and associated restaurants as full time employees with full DuPont medical and retirement benefits, made retroactive to their employment.

 Active in his church and community, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Salvation Army and Chairman of the United Way. He was a member of many professional societies, and has received awards for his contributions in toxicology, and has publications in the fields of organometallics, chemotherapy, and holds several patents relating to aromatic polymers.

 In 1986 he was honored by the State of Tennessee as one of its 12 Outstanding Scientists and Engineers. He has served on the Board of Directors of Mitsui Flurochemicals Ltd., Japan , the Council of the Americas, the Hong Kong-U.S. Development Council, the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, among others. He served on the steering committee of Business Roundtable, Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, the Conservation Foundation, and the National Environmental Development Association. In 1993 he was selected to receive the University of Tennessee’s Volunteer of the Year award for his service to the university and community.

 In his few leisure hours, he enjoyed playing golf, and when he retired, he and his wife Pat moved into the home she designed in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. For the last 15 years he and Pat lived with their daughter Judy in Charleston, recently moving to Aiken SC upon Judy’s retirement. After a brief illness, he died peacefully at home at the age of 90.

 The funeral service is scheduled at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 29th, 2024 at St. John’s Methodist Church in Aiken, presided by Dr. Tim McClendon. A private inurnment in Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston will take place the following day.

SHELLHOUSE - RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC