Darryl Vincent Tatum
1961 – 2021
Darryl Vincent Tatum
December 12, 1961 to January 29, 2021
Somerville, MA
A colorful, spirited, compassionate and loving person has gone to meet his Maker and our ancestors. Darryl will be greatly missed in many realms for many reasons. Darryl lived in the South End and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston for the first two thirds of his life. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1980. He also, attended Northeastern University. Darryl found his passion in music production and programming. And did he have the voice for that profession! He worked at various radio stations around the country including WRBB, and the former WILD, as well as, on a Gospel radio station in Louisiana. He worked with Mel King at the South End Technology Center as well as an instructor for an internet-based radio platform. Darryl was all things music. He was a giving man. He always wanted to help; and he would. He was a people person. Along his life’s journey and daily adventures, he met and made friends just about everywhere he went.
When he returned to Massachusetts from Louisiana, he became involved with canines. Darryl had two dogs: Mamou, a female Rottweiler and Isley, a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Darryl was an extraordinary guy living an ordinary life. He was very community oriented. He was the guy that would not hesitate to help you out in a crunch. He would give you his all. And boy did he know how to captivate an audience when re-telling an experience. Darryl had perfect comedic timing. He knew how to give you joy. Darryl most definitely touched the lives of those who knew him and those that just met him with his generosity, enthusiasm, talent, and big heart. It truly was a reward to have been befriended by Darryl.
He broke through many barriers and labels just by being his authentic self. Many of us who knew him considered Darryl to be a true champion of humanity because he cared.
He will be missed by his immediate family: his sisters, Charlene and Cheryl Williams, his nephew Damian P. Hull-Williams and his close friends Joshua Carraha, Caliga, Ray Raynor, Ben Ewen-Campen and Eric Buck.
He is predeceased by his parents, Joan Olive Williams-Tatum, Johnny Vincent Tatum, his precious grandmother, Gladys Muriel Williams plus his two beloved canine companions, Mamou and Isley. His many connections in the Boston and Cambridge/Sommerville area are too numerous to name but those that knew him during the last five years of his life knew he fought a valiant fight championing his health issues and navigating the imperfect healthcare systems.
There will be a celebration of life when gatherings are permitted.