Dorothy Mae Tatman, 85, of 2509 Clifton Drive, Urbana, died at 1:35 p.m., Sat., Jan. 19, 2008 in the home she'd lived in for 40 years. A reception for friends and family will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday at Renner-Wikoff Chapel, Urbana, with a funeral service at 3 p.m., conducted by Father Robert Tatman. A memorial service and burial of her cremains will be held in March. Dorothy was born May 13, 1922, in Crane, Mo., a daughter of William Burns and Ida Rose Worden Inskeep. She grew up in the east end of Urbana and attended Thornburn and Urbana High School and helped her mother run the household of seven children. She married Lawrence E. Tatman on July 24, 1939 in Williamsport, Ind.and he survives. They have three surviving children, Judy (Jerry) Carlos of Port Isabel, Texas, Mary Rose (Michael) Middleton of Adelaide, Australia and Rebecca (Michael) Mabry of rural Homer. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren, Debbie Larson of Northport, Fla., Crystal Merritt of Bourbonnais, Father Robert Tatman of Naples, Fla., Linda Judd of Carmel, Ind., Dan Tatman of Indianapolis, Ron Bryant of St. Joseph, Kim Fleming of Arthur, Sue Sansone of Colorado Springs., Colo., Matt Mabry of St. Joseph and Tim Mabry of Champaign. She is also survived by 10 great-grandchildren, five step-great-grandchildren and one step-great-great-grandchild. Dorothy's younger sister, Rosemary Marconi, of San Pedro, Calif., also survives. Dorothy was preceded in death by a daughter Linda who died at birth in 1948. And in 1967, her son Robert L. Tatman was killed in the line of duty as a Champaign police officer. She suffered from the loss of her son until the day of her own death, and felt especially honored that the police included her in the annual law enforcement awareness day each May. Dorothy's five brothers preceded her in death. All served in World War II, and two were at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. Dorothy lived the younger years of her married life as a hard-working farm wife, not only helping in the field when needed but raising chickens, growing large gardens with an orchard and grape arbor to harvest and preserve. She was a fine cook and rarely put a meal on the table without a homemade dessert of cobbler, cookies or cakes. She sewed many of the clothes for her three daughters and encouraged them to pursue 4-H and participate in school activities. For many years the family lived between St. Joseph and Urbana, near Mayview, and she was active in the Mayview Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school. She had a talent for putting together hearty delicious meals and served many family feasts throughout the years. She often invited soldiers from Chanute Air Force Base to join the holiday meals when they couldn't be home with their own families. She and her husband loved to fish and often took fishing vacations, and they danced many fox trots and waltzes across local dance floors. When she and Lawrence left the farm in 1966 as he began to work for SuperValue, they moved to the edge of Urbana and she began to focus on her grandchildren. She went fishing with them in the mud puddles in the driveway until they graduated to little creeks and lakes. She had dozens of tea parties, sailed for miles and miles with them in the wooden boat in the backyard and taught them how to bake cookies as well as build roads in the dirt with matchbox cars and trucks. She later took up crocheting and made afghans for her children and grandchildren and also wrote her childhood memories, which have been compiled into a booklet. She also helped Lawrence, a beekeeper, with his business and for many years they sold honey at the Champaign and Urbana farmer's markets. Some called her the Honey Lady. In her last years as her health failed, she read dozens of books each month and kept track of family with e-mails and phone conversations. She spent many years studying family history and tracking the Tatman and Inskeep lines and communicated with "kin" from all over the world. She was especially proud of a family tie to a Mayflower ancestor. She died in hospice care with her family by her side in the home she loved and kept filled with family pictures and mementoes, after suffering a major stroke Jan. 11. Her family will remember her as the vibrant, caring woman she was throughout her 85 years. She never carried a grudge, was always forgiving, and loved her husband and family above all else. Dorothy Tatman was an unforgettable woman, quick to laugh and easy to love.

The family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Urbana Free Library to go toward the purchase of large-type books or the American Cancer Society.