Frank Buck Tatom

Frank is survived by: son Frank Thomas Tatom (Donna Nelson); son John Wood Tatom (Laura); daughter Briana Tatom Moseley (John); and their mother, Roberta Wood Tatom. He also is survived by six grandchildren (Rachael, Hannah, Amelia, Sarah Grace, Ally, and Ella), as well as two nieces (Betsy and Kate) and a nephew (Bob).

Frank was preceded in death by: his parents; his brother, John Wilbur Tatom (Hilda); and his sister, Betty Buck Murch (Bert). He was also preceded in death by his nephew (Joe).

Frank was a proud graduate of the US Naval Academy, and after active duty retired from the Naval Reserve as a Captain. After getting his master’s degree from Auburn, he completed his PhD in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech, and then ran his own engineering company in Huntsville for over 35 years.

Frank worked on numerous advanced engineering projects, focusing on models of turbulent flow, tornadic phenomena, and explosives effects and consequences. He was also credited with the definitive paper explaining the relationship between fractals and fractional calculus. His work in seismic detection of tornadoes was judged one of the top ten original ideas in the world by Saatchi and Saatchi in 1998, which was subsequently featured on the National Geographic Channel. Additionally, some of his explosive damage recreation efforts were part of a Discovery Channel documentary.

Frank was a lifelong lover of wildlife, especially big cats (tigers, lions, leopards, etc.). Additionally, he was well-known locally for ballroom dancing, including founding the Huntsville Dance Club, a nonprofit organization that conducted ~1,000 dances during his tenure, in the process raising approximately $100,000 for local charities. He was also an avid Bible history researcher, teaching local classes and producing scholarly rebukes of attempts to discredit the Bible’s historical value.

A small family memorial service was held in Huntsville on April 21st. When travel and gatherings return to normal, there will be a commemorative celebration. Information on that will be posted when plans are made here: www.valhallafunerals.com. Messages for the family can also be posted at this site.

For those interested in charitable donations in Frank’s memory, two options for causes that he cared about deeply are:

• The Michael J Fox Foundation (https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate)

• The Wildlife Conservation Society (https://www.wcs.org/)

Frank was not directly affiliated with either organization; these options were apolitically selected by his children.