Earl Steere VanAtta

Earl S. Van Atta, Jr., 93, of Tallahassee , FL , died August 15, 2010, at Capital Regional Medical Center Hospital. Survivors include his wife, Anne; daughter Keith Van Atta (Julian Ganoudis), Tallahassee; sons Earl S. Van Atta III, Fort Myers, and Philip Leon Van Atta (Toni), of Bradenton. He was preceded in death by grandson Earl S.Van Atta IV and a sister, Torrey George. Other survivors include a brother, John Van Atta of Melbourne, and a sister, Vaunceil Ketchum, of Sun City, AZ; and grandchildren Rici Hall (Keith), Dustin Keller, and Avery Ganoudis, of Tallahassee, Amy Renee Garcia (Jason) Pembroke Pines, FL, and Camille and Reece Van Atta Bradenton; and a great grandchild, Emily Bolde of Tallahassee.

Earl, Jr., was born July 29, 1917, in Durham, N. C., the oldest son of Earl & Genevieve Van Atta. He graduated in 1941 with a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Missouri, from which his father & grandfather had graduated. He married Anne Jones, also a Missouri graduate, in 1941. He served in the U.S. Army in Japan, and was discharged in 1946.

A Soil Scientist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture, he worked in Arkansas and Florida until his retirement in 1976, in Tallahassee.

He was well-known for his interest in archaeology & fishing and haunting flea markets, where he never turned down a good bargain.

Arrangements are under the direction of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home in Tallahassee, Florida.