William's obituary
On the morning of June 11, 2022, William Chandler Tatum of Flower Mound, TX, passed away at the age of 52, surrounded by his wife and children. Chandler’s battle with Glioblastoma was not fought alone; when given the diagnosis, he said, “Cancer will not win. Love will win.”
Chandler was born in 1969 to Benjamin Robert Tatum and Jean Earle Tatum. His childhood in Zachary and West Monroe, Louisiana was filled with sports and playing games such as “hide the belt” with his siblings and neighborhood friends. He graduated from Zachary High School (where he was voted Best Dressed) and attended Northeast Louisiana University, where he played football and graduated with a BA in Business.
Chandler built his career in the pharmaceutical industry and eventually found his way to the neurology space, where he cherished the opportunity to help patients with epilepsy. He was passionate about leading his sales team and forged close professional and personal relationships with his colleagues and doctors. Chandler enjoyed the unique challenges of start-up companies and loved his most current company, Neurelis. Chandler ended his career with caring, faithful colleagues who valued the attributes that he found most important. Although Chandler loved his job, he always put his family first.
Chandler met his wife-to-be, Niki, on a blind date (through mutual friends) and they were engaged 9 months later. They were married for 24 years and had three children. Chandler was a devoted husband and father whose strength, love, loyalty and faith guided his family, Team Tatum. His dad jokes, wit, and spontaneity kept things fun. Whether it be creating a pool in the bed of his pick up truck on a 100 degree Texas day, or bringing a wig along on a spring break trip, he created lifelong memories and embraced goofiness. Chandler loved the Foo Fighters, exercising with Niki at CG, and was an avid reader of history and nonfiction. He loved time with close friends, watching college football, serving his church, leading Bible studies, and attending youth mission trips (even if he did need to take a break from the teenagers in a Chick fil A parking lot). Most of all, Chandler loved time with his family.
Chandler is survived by his wife, Niki; his son, William; his daughters, Ashley, and Sarah Claire; his parents Bob and Jean Tatum; his sister, Missy (Leslie); his brothers Todd (Cyndi), and Jason (Rachel); and his nephews and nieces: Kelsey (Bailey), Camille, Wes, Eva Louise and Park.
A Celebration of Life & Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 25th at 2:00 p.m. at Flower Mound United Methodist Church (3950 Bruton Orand Blvd, Flower Mound, TX)
For those not able to attend in person, the service will be live-streamed on https://fmumc.org/, Flower Mound UMC. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Glioblastomafoundation.org, or Flower Mound UMC Building Fund.