James Tanner

James Franklin Tanner, 94, of Chillicothe, went to be with the Lord at 2:58am Tuesday November 27, 2007 in Traditions of Chillicothe. Funeral services will be held at 1:00pm Monday, December 3, in Zion Baptist Church with Rev. J. Troy Gray officiating. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Cemetery. Friends may call Sunday from 5-8pm at Zion Baptist Church, where a Masonic Funeral service will be held at 8:00pm. Arrangements are under the direction of Haller Funeral Home. James was born November 4, 1913, in Jackson, OH, to the late Lewelza and Jessie Artis Tanner. On November 12, 1937, he married the former Stella C. Wingo, who survives. Also surviving are their daughters and sons-in-law Joan C. Cousins, of Columbus; Kay T. (Dr. Curtis J.) Mitchell, Sacramento, CA; Carole A. (Jacques) Thomas, Chillicothe; 9 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and 1 great-great-grandchild. He was predeceased by a son James D. Tanner; a son-in-law Warren Cousins; a brother Alfred Tanner; and a sister Mary Speight. Mr. Tanner retired from the Veterans Administration Medical Center where he worked as a boiler engineer and an occupational therapist from January 1942 until his retirement in March of 1973. He also worked part-time and full-time at the Adena Regional Medical Center and the former Chillicothe Hospital as a Boiler Operator and retired in 1991. He was devoted to the two families in his life: his biological family and his church family. He was a member of Zion Baptist Church where he served in many capacities including Deacon Emeritus. He was also a member of the F & AM Ionic Lodge #6.