May 18, 2011

A memorial service for John Francis Tabis Sr., 59, of Hartselle will be Friday, May 20, at 6 p.m. at Hartselle Heritage Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Mike Vest officiating.

Visitation will be Friday, May 20, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the funeral home.

Mr. Tabis died Wednesday, May 18, 2011, at Decatur General Hospital. He was born January 15, 1952, in Illinois to Edward C. Tabis Sr. and Florence H. Korzen Tabis. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He enjoyed coaching his children in all sports and loved fishing, traveling and good food. He transferred from Electro-Motive in La Grange, Ill. in 1984 to Saginaw Steering Gear in Athens, which became Delphi for 20 plus years. He retired from General Motors Corvette Plant in Kentucky in 2005. After retirement he worked for Lowe’s Home Improvement, first in Decatur and then in Hartselle until the time of his death. He will be remembered for his strength, easy going personality, strong work ethics and someone you could always count on.

He is survived by his wife, Marilyn Tabis of Hartselle; two sons, John Tabis Jr. and wife Daphne of Hartselle and Jeffrey Tabis of Atlanta, Ga.; a daughter, Jeannine Tabis Dowdy and husband Jeremy of Hartselle; his father, Roy Migler of Ill.; a brother, Edward Tabis and wife Judy of Montana; two sisters, Debra Furr and husband Tom of Shorewood, Ill. and Carole Weidinger and husband Mark of Bolingbrook, Ill.; and three grandchildren, Angel Dowdy, Alexandria Dowdy and Kailyn Tabis.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or Meals on Wheels. A special thank you to the staff at Decatur General Hospital for their kind and compassionate care.