John Branson “JB” Tarr died in the arms of his loving wife of 72 years on November 9, 2022, on his 91st birthday, at Hospice House, Hutchinson. He was born November 9, 1931, in Cherokee, OK, to Jesse Cornelius and Lois Fay (Van Wye) Tarr.
JB graduated in 1949 from Planeview High School, Wichita. He went on to earn degrees at Wichita State and Pittsburg State Universities. He was a lifetime educator, teaching mathematics at Junior High, High school and college levels for 60 years. He officially retired from teaching in 1994 from Hutchinson Community College, but missed teaching mathematics, and became an adjunct instructor at NWAC in Arkansas for an additional 19 years.
Many athletes were impacted by Coach Tarr, in football, basketball, and track. He started with assisting in sports at Mulvane High, then coaching a sport for every season in Derby where he was head coach for track. He coached cross country and track at Hutchinson Community College for over 20 years, with a particular passion for long-distance runners.
John had a love of numbers, and acted as a statistician for many sports events, to include the National Junior College Basketball tournament and taking surveys at the State Fair. He passed his love of numbers on to the little ones in the family and a frequent sight was to find him working on math problems with them as soon as they could count. He tutored several grandkids from afar, as far away as Australia.
Beyond numbers, he had a love for golf, for birdwatching, for traveling, and for hiking, especially in the mountains. If a family member had an interest, he learned all about it so he could add it to his hobbies.
JB was a member of the Church of Christ, serving as an elder for 3 congregations- College Hill Church of Christ in Mulvane, Walnut and Campbell in Hutchinson, and Bella Vista Church of Christ in Arkansas. He epitomized a life of servitude. JB taught classes at these churches and was willing to also lead the song service and preach as needed. Of note, he and Patsy worked several years as facilitators for Marriage Encounter and counseling young couples. They traveled to South Africa to teach Bible Classes there.
JB is survived by: his wife, Patsy of Hutchinson; daughters, Deborah Herndon (Rex) of Arkansas City, Brenda Graham (Kenny) of Hutchinson, and Penny Pearlman of Coral Springs, FL; son, John Tarr (Kelley) of Brooklet, GA, 13 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren. He is survived by one brother, Van Tarr of Mulvane.
He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Dickie Van Tarr; a granddaughter, Holly Jo Hadley; a great-granddaughter, Ava Marie Ehret, and 5 sisters.
Funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, November 14, 2022, at Elliott Chapel, with son-in-law, Kenny Graham and Randall Caselman officiating. Graveside service will be 3:00 p.m. at the Mulvane Cemetery, Mulvane, with Robert Hamm officiating. Friends may call from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. Sunday, with the family present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Sunday at Elliott Mortuary.