News & Events

In Memorium: Barbara Tatum October 7, 1924 - February 4, 2017

Feb 12, 2017

The San Francisco golf community lost a great friend and supporter last week with the passing of Barbara Tatum, wife of former USGA President Sandy Tatum, a pillar of San Francisco golf and the driving force behind the 2002-2003 renovation of Harding Park. Barbara passed away February 4, at the age of 92. Donations may be made in her name to the Children’s Theater Association of San Francisco per the San Francisco Chronicle obituary published February 11:

Barbara Emily Snyder Tatum

October 7, 1924 - February 4, 2017

Born in Santa Cruz, California, Barbara attended Mission Hill and completed high school at Castilleja. After graduating from Stanford, she took a train across the continent and a ship across the Atlantic to marry Frank "Sandy" Tatum at Oxford, England in 1949. They raised their six children in San Francisco, where she cultivated in them an appreciation for all of the art, music, and theater the city had to offer, and introduced them to Joni Mitchell, Bill Evans, and Dvorak. Her first love was classical piano, which she played for hours every day, giving it up just weeks before she died.

Barbara also instilled in her children a love of books, and they will miss being able to share that love with her. She liked camping, fishing, and playing golf with her friends, and escaped to spend time at Potbelly Beach whenever possible. Known to her family as B.E.S.T., she and Sandy lived for three months in the South of France, and she never gave up studying the language, painstakingly translating texts in French.

Barbara was proud of each and every one of her children and grandchildren, and for her family and many friends, there was no one quite like her. She leaves behind her husband Frank "Sandy" Tatum, her brother Bert B. Snyder, her children Jeffery Anne, Timothy (Kate), Peter, Christopher (Ruth), Victoria (Blue), and Shelley (Michael), as well as eleven grandchildren. The family plans to gather privately at Potbelly Beach in the spring to honor her memory.

Donations can be made in her name to:

Children's Theater Association of San Francisco

3450 Sacramento Street, PMB 442

San Francisco, CA 94118-1914