Sion Smith Tatum

Graveside services for Sion Tatum, 87, of Many, LA, will be held Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 9:30 AM at Converse Cemetery in Converse, LA, with Rev. Jimmy Price officiating.

Sion Smith Tatum passed away peacefully July 17, 2022, in Bryan, Texas. He was born in Converse, LA, in 1934 to Emma Winfree Tatum and Pierre Tanner Tatum. He had a strong moral compass, was loved by all who knew him and was always looking for ways to help others by sharing knowledge and advice. He attended Midway Baptist Church in Converse.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter-in-law Diane Tatum, his special grandmother Bula Boyd Winfree, and his dog, Lucky.

He is survived by his wife, Helen, his sons Terry and John and his grandson Jonathan.

Smith was a loving husband and father, and his family was very important to him. He had a strong work ethic and worked hard all his life. He started with a newspaper route when he was in elementary school, worked in his mother’s store and on the family farm. In high school he spent several summers working in the oil field around Andrews in West Texas. Upon graduation from high school, he joined the Army, serving his time in Germany. He returned and went back to the oilfields. Living in Odessa, he went to work for an electrical contractor and went to school to learn television repair. He then went to work in Carlsbad, New Mexico for a television repair business. He met and married the love of his life, Helen, in Odessa and they were married 60 years. He began working for Rexall Drug and Chemical Company in Odessa, TX, as an electrician and later as an instrument technician working in a cutting-edge plastics plant at the dawn of the plastics industry. After 21 years with the company, he went back to the Means field in Andrews, TX, working on the Exxon leases as an instrument technician. Upon retirement, he returned to Sabine Parish where he enjoyed gardening, looking after the trees, and caring for his family.

The family would like to thank the staff at Parc at Traditions in Bryan, Texas, as well as Encompass/ Enhabit Hospice for their care of Smith.

The family suggests that donations in his name be made to Alzheimer’s Texas, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or your favorite charity.