It is with great sadness that we share that Loyd Estes Tarver, Jr. passed away on February 3, 2025.

Loyd was born on February 4, 1943 to Loyd Estes and Meredith (Mounger) Tarver.    Loyd married Winn Chappell (Wendy) on May 31, 1968.  Loyd (also known as Chief to his grandkids) is survived by his sister, Julie O'Donnell and husband Terry of Brentwood, TN; his four children -- daughter Winn Tarver Knight, husband Tyler, of Greenwood, IN, their children Robbie, Katie and Jamie; son Loyd Estes Tarver, III and wife Carrie of Raleigh, NC; daughter Meredith Taylor Sadler, and husband Jasyn of West Hartford, CT; son Gordon Chappell Tarver, and wife, Brittany, of Santa Rosa Beach, FL, and their children Harper and Carson.

Loyd was preceded in passing by his parents, his sister Meredith, his brother James Taylor, and recently by his wife of 55 years.

Loyd grew up in Franklin, TN.  He lived on farms and was always helping his parents however he was needed.  At one time, that included raising thousands of chickens while also attending school full time.  Loyd attended Franklin High School, where he earned his Eagle Scout, and then Vanderbilt University.  Not known to many because of his humility, he graduated first in his class (Founders Medalist) from the College of Engineering at Vandy.  He went on to Rice University and obtained a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Loyd's roommate at Rice was Rick Chappell, Wendy's brother.  One Thanksgiving, Rick told Loyd that his sister was coming to visit for the holiday and asked Loyd to be her date for the weekend.  Upon returning home, Wendy informed her mom that she had met the man she was going to marry.  In May of 1968, Loyd married Wendy in Montgomery, AL.  Loyd accepted his first job as an Associate Engineer at IBM, and they moved to Lexington, KY where they started their family.  Loyd worked for many employers over the years including IBM (several promotions and moves including Kentucky, New Jersey, Colorado), Mead Digital Systems (Dayton, OH), Intergraph (Huntsville, AL), ITI (Cookeville, TN where he was CEO and earned his nickname of "Chief"), and Squid Ink (Minneapolis, MN).  After all of those jobs and moves, he and Wendy decided to move to Santa Rosa Beach, FL in 2002 where he eventually began a new business in association management.  Sea Breeze Association Management is still in operation today (sold to a new owner in 2019), and Loyd retired in August of 2023.

Loyd worked hard his entire life to provide for his family and support their activities, but did find the time for activities outside of the office.  He tutored and mentored numerous kids (including all of his own) through high school calculus.  He was talented on the guitar and loved singing songs to his kids with favorites including Good Old Mountain Dew and Salty Dog.  He and Wendy even wrote a few personalized songs for retirement and birthday parties that people still talk about today.  He loved to golf, but never did get his PGA card!  And lastly, he was a master preparer of his nightly "nightcap" consisting of Jamesons Irish Whiskey and Bailey's which he loved making for anyone who was interested.

Loyd was known as a gentle soul.  He was easygoing and quick with a smile.  Loyd was a loving father, grandfather, and brother.  While he will be missed dearly, all that knew his love for Wendy and the joy she brought him take comfort in the fact that they are together again.

There will be a memorial service at a future date in Florida.  Details to come.  Swartz Family Community Mortuary and Memorial Center in Franklin, Indiana is handling the arrangements.  Condolences for the family can be sent to www.swartzmortuary.com.