Funeral Services for Jeff Read Tarver, 64, of Madison, MS and formerly of Greenville will be held at 2 p.m. on November 1 in the chapel of First Baptist Church, Greenville. He died October 27, 2018, in Nashville while visiting family. Burial will be in Greenville Cemetery under the direction of Boone Funeral Home, Greenville.
A native of Greenville, Jeff was the son of the late John William and Annie Louise Stovall Tarver of Greenville. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Greenville until his family moved to Madison in 2010.
Jeff grew up in Greenville and was a graduate of Greenville High School. He then graduated from Delta State University and obtained his License as a Certified Public Accountant in 1977.
He began and worked his entire career of 45 years in the firm founded by his father that eventually became Tarver, Tarver, Kirby, and Jackson. In addition, Jeff served several years on the bank board of Deposit Guaranty National Bank in Greenville. He joined the Delta State University Foundation Board in 2008 and was current chair of the finance committee. He was loved and respected by all who knew him.
One of his greatest joys over the last 30 years was ministering in numerous churches around the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta as interim pastor and through pulpit supply. Jeff was currently the pastor at Eudora Baptist Church, where he served for the past 8 years. He also found immense joy in spending time with his family, traveling, vacationing at the beach, and sailing.
He was preceded in death by his brother John William “Bill” Tarver III. Survivors include his wife, Donna Tolar Tarver of Madison; son, Jeff Read Tarver, Jr, of Madison; daughter, Tracy Tarver Donahou (Andy) of Shelbyville, KY; step-daughters, Marci Russum (Ryan) of Kingsport, TN and Julie Varnier (Nate) of Richmond, Virginia. He was a beloved “Boom Boom” to nine grandchildren; Landon, Anna Catherine, Holden, and Hunter Donahou of Shelbyville, KY; Emma and Libby Russum of Kingsport, TN; Emma, Laney, and Edie Varnier of Richmond, VA; sister, Gerry Nichol of Memphis, TN; brother, Russell S. Tarver of Birmingham, AL; brother-in-laws, Dan Tolar of Brandon, MS, and Bo Tolar of Clinton, MS; as well as a host of nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends in the First Baptist Church Chapel from 12:30 until the funeral service. Memorials may be made to Eudora Baptist Church, Eudora, Arkansas, or the John William and Annie Louise Tarver Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 3141, Cleveland, MS 38733 or online www.deltastategiving.org