Floyd Turner Tarrer

Floyd Turner Tarrer, 85, of Arlington, Texas, joined the love of his life, Nelda Jo Tarrer and his precious daughter, Linda Kathleen Penny Tarrer, on March 3, 2016. Nelda had departed this world on October 17, 2015 and had awaited their reunion.

Floyd was born August 23, 1930 in Corsicana, Texas and grew up on a farm there, a sweet and happy boy who enjoyed playing pranks on people. He was a proud high school graduate, thanks to Nelda’s tutoring him in English. Floyd married his tutor shortly afterward on August 29, 1948.

His long work history included stints as a school janitor and factory worker in Corsicana before he moved to Hobbs, NM for a better job and, eventually, to Fort Worth, where he began his career at Stratoflex. In 1963, Floyd took a position as a hose salesman for Parker Hannifin, in Mentor, OH and he lived and worked there for 48 years. Floyd was always very hard-working, doing whatever he could to take care of his family, even, at times, holding down more than one job.

Family was the most important thing to Floyd. Whenever anyone needed help, he was always there—maybe with an accompanying lecture—but he was always there. He took care of his mother and, after the untimely death of his daughter Linda, he took care of her children. He was a wonderful role model for his daughters. To his grandchildren, he was a father figure, mentor and grandfather all in one, and he often said they meant the world to him. As he used to tell his grandson Chris, “we are buddies, stuck together like glue.”

Floyd’s phenomenal sense of humor varied from the absurd to outright silly and he never tired of teasing and making bad jokes. Once he made you laugh, he loved to run that joke into the ground, to the amusement of many, but not Nelda. Floyd was always very positive, despite the difficulties he endured in life. Physically and emotionally tough, he remained eternally optimistic and excelled at making other people feel better, even when he was hospitalized. “Dyolf Rerrat” was truly one of a kind.

Floyd was predeceased by his brother, Will Tom Tarrer; his parents, Lila and Turner Tarrer his wife, Nelda and daughter Linda; and his son-in-law, Scott Robinson. He is survived by his daughter, Angela, of Ithaca, NY; granddaughter Julie Tarrer, of Arlington; grandsons Christopher (and wife Debbie) Penny and Jeremy (and wife Lori) Penny, of Waxahachie, TX, and Jonathan Penny (and girlfriend Renee Horton) of Arlington; great-grandchildren Derik and Justin Lindsey of Arlington; Angel and Chandler Penny, T.J. Milsaps, and Blake Penny, of Waxahachie; Cameron White of Burleson, TX; and Aleena Penny of Arlington; brother-in-law Gene Breithaupt of Mansfield, TX; sister-in-law Patty Sue Hill of Tucson, AZ; former sister-in-law Shirley Morgan of Spur, TX; and several nieces and nephews in Arizona.