Aaron Francis Tatum, 74, of Memphis passed away on July 30, 2025 in Memphis.
The family received friends from noon-2 p.m. at Brent Taylor Funeral Home, 534 West Poplar Avenue, Collierville, on Sunday, Aug. 3, followed by a brief internment at 4 p.m. at the Henderson City Cemetery in Henderson.
He was born Jan. 20, 1951, to Judge F. Lloyd and Inadene Rogers Tatum.
He was an author, a devoted husband and a beloved friend and family member with a great sense of humor. His interests involved writing, making music, history and current affairs. He had a long career in the insurance business.
He was former President of the Shakespeare Oxford Society (now Shakespeare Fellowship) of N. America and member of the De Vere Society in the U.K. He wrote a weekly column called “A.F.T.erthoughts” that had been published in several W. Tennessee weeklies for many years and was published in Memphis magazine.
He wrote short stories for the Dallas-Ft. Worth Press Service and Commercial Appeal. He helped write and assemble the Final Report to then Governor Lamar Alexander for the 1979 Memphis Jobs Conference and wrote the application for the Memphis Foreign Trade Zone. He authored one novel, “Shakespeare’s Secrets.”
He was a member of the Nashville Musicians Union and was stand-in for Joe Don Baker in the movie “Walking Tall.” He has written ad script for television. He once headed the Giant Rats of Sumatra, the Sherlock Holmes club of Memphis. He holds a B.A. from the University of Tennessee and an M.P.A. from the University of Colorado.
He is survived by three siblings, Suzanne (Wade) Loo of Powder Springs, Ga., Lloyd R. (Lynn) Tatum of Henderson and Tim (Sharon) Tatum of New Kent, Va.; seven nieces and nephews; one great-niece; and his friend, Sharetta Hall and her sons, Matthew and Logan.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Maria Reichel Tatum; his sister, Janice Tatum; his mother, Inadene Rogers Tatum; and his father, Judge F. Lloyd Tatum.
