Life Is Short

Tatum, Al Brent
March 20, 1961 - June 22, 2008
"His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Matthew 25:23 He was born on March 20, 1961, to the blessed union of the late Deacon and Mother Ernestine (Watson) Tatum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Elder Al Brent Tatum was the youngest of 16 children. He received his formal education in the Milwaukee Public School System. Pastor Al Brent Tatum, 47, died Sunday in Memorial Hospital. Survivors include his wife, Debra (They were married on July 24, 1989); a daughter, Talesha J. Tatum; sons, Tevin X. Tatum and Trenton R. Tatum.

You can view the full Obituary from the South Bend Tribune, by clicking on his name above.

I met Pastor Tatum for the first time on Memorial Day, 5/26/08. His Church is 3-4 blocks from our house. He invited my roommate and her family to a Cookout at his Church, and she invited me. I even mentioned this Cookout in my blog on Memorial Day. I visited with Pastor Tatum while we were eating. We shared the bond of both having lived in Milwaukee, WI. He was born in Milwaukee, WI and grew up there! As stated above, he was the youngest of 16 children. He loved having people around! He cooked all of the food for this Cookout himself! It was delicious! He appeared to be perfectly healthy and was full of life and generosity. None of us could have known that 27 days later he would be leaving this earth. He passed away from complications related to a stroke he had a few days before. My roommate and her family ended up visiting his church a few times and having dinner with him and his family another time.

The funeral is going on as I am typing this. It is on the far west side of South Bend. I had forgotten the funeral was this morning and didn't wake up until 10:30am. Please pray for his wife Debra and his 3 Children who are middle school/jr. high/high school ages.

This is just another reminder to me that life is short and I need to be ready to go home to Jesus at any time!