Mary Ann Tatum

Born in Long Beach, CA in 1943, she grew up in in Kingfisher, OK, then Pocatello, ID. Mary Ann lived life fully and joyfully as a mother, sister, aunt, colleague, and friend. She raised two beautiful daughters, Michelle (Barry) and Marielle with her first husband Michael Raidy. She took great joy in cooking, crafting, gardening, singing, sailing and skiing with them as they grew. She experienced true heartache when Marielle passed in 2002.

Mary Ann launched her long career by leaving Idaho to work in San Francisco for Kelly Girls. Returning to Idaho, she worked for a law firm which set her on the path that led to a management position with the Union Pacific Railroad. She overcame multiple hurdles during her time there, including: completing her MBA at night, while working full time and being the primary caregiver to two little girls (modeling for them the importance of education and persistence); overcoming the the barriers inherent in a male dominated workplace, including filing an EOC complaint, which ultimately demonstrated her determination to succeed; and, eventually, leaving Idaho for Kansas City and then Denver to make the moves necessary for career advancement. She was able to retire early due to her hard work and determination, which allowed her to more fully enjoy the next phase of her life.

She met the love of her life, Howard Tatum, later in life and jumped right in, knowing that you never know how much time you will get with someone. Because of Howard, she was blessed with a bonus family of his 7 grown children in Hawaii, who she loved as her own. She and Howard travelled frequently from Colorado and later Marana, AZ to spend plenty of time with them and their many grandchildren and great grand children.

With Howard she was able to enjoy some of her true passions in life: golfing, good food, friends, but most of all, travel. She was a a Vagabond at heart, and they created a bucket list of places to visit all over the world and ticked them off one by one. When that was done, they created a second list and were working those off when Howard passed away in 2016. They saw the world!

She was very active in their community of the Highlands at Dove Mountain, including choir, water sports – aerobics, walking and volleyball -, seeing concerts, and exploring Tucson with the Sassy Saguaro sisters. She was actively interested and involved in politics and social justice issues. Though she missed Howard terribly, Mary Ann continued to find meaning those activities, as well traveling to visit her daughter Michelle and son-in-law, Phil, in Minnesota, as well as Howard’s children in Hawaii.

She was deeply committed to her work with Rotary International. She and Howard were charter members of Dove Mountain Rotary club and she took great pride in the many service projects and scholarships sponsored by their club as well as working closely with the High School Interact club.

Mary Ann was a voracious reader, enjoyed sharing a good meal and a cold glass of wine, singing and dancing like no one was watching, beautiful music of all kinds, laughing hard and often, a perfect martini, and time with friends and family. Her love, her smile, and her joy will be missed.

She is preceded in death by her parents; brother, Danny; daughter Marielle and her son Joey; husband, Howard; and her sister, Kathleen. She is survived by her brother, Richard McBride; daughter Michelle and son-in-law, Phil Barry; her grandchildren, Christopher and Brianna Raidy; stepchildren: Genevieve, Barbara, Anita, Mona, Laura, Donna and David, as well as their many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren; and her nieces and nephews, Terri, Keally, Zach, and Jessica.

Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00AM, July 20th at Our Lady of the Desert Parish, 7101 W. Picture Rocks Rd., Tucson, AZ 85743. Celebration of Life will follow at 2:00PM, at the Highlands at Dove Mountain ( https://www.thehighlandsatdovemountain.com for directions and contact information.)

Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to: 1) Dove Mountain Rotary Charitable Fund - Howard and Mary Ann Tatum Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 69085, Oro Valley, AZ 85737, or dovemountainrotary.org. 2) Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, 11734 W Grier Rd., Marana, AZ 85653, communityfoodbank.org