Enrique Tranqueleno "Tab" Tabyanan Jr., of Dardanelle passed away Jan.
3, 2021, at Conway Regional Medical Center after a short battle with
Covid-19. He was born Nov. 18, 1934, in Gretna, La., the second-eldest
of Florence and Enrique Tranqueleno Tabyanan Sr.'s five children.
After leaving high school and obtaining his GED, Tabyanan entered the
U.S. Navy at age 16 and served four years before joining the U.S. Air
Force. He met his wife, the late Betty L. Tabyanan, (nee Wesley) at
Jacksonville Air Force Base in Arkansas.

While serving in the Air Force, he fought in the Korean and Vietnam
Wars and became the first boom operator to refuel all the Boeing jets
in flight. Tabyanan retired from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in
Ohio in 1972, and the family relocated to Dardanelle.

He earned a bachelor of science and master's degree in mathematics
from Arkansas Polytechnic College (now Arkansas Tech University) in
Russellville, and became a math teacher at Dardanelle Junior High
School. He retired after 17 years of teaching and successfully ran for
the Dardanelle School Board. He served two terms.

Around his adopted hometown of Dardanelle, "Tab" was known as an avid
fisherman and a regular at bait shops and coffee shops. As a teacher,
he positively affected the lives of many young people in town. He was
happiest when fishing, reading or cooking. Tab was also a classical
music and movie lover and favored spaghetti Westerns and other old
movies.

Tabyanan is preceded by his wife, Betty Tabyanan of Dardanelle;
parents Florence Kittle of Victorville, CA, and E.T. Tabyanan Sr. of
Gretna, LA; sister, Genevieve Nuckols of San Pedro, CA; and brother,
Gabriel Tabyanan of Sana Barbara, CA. He is survived by daughter Cyd
King of Fayetteville, AR,; son and daughter-in-law, Marc and Traci
Tabyanan of Oklahoma City, OK; granddaughter, Carley King of Los
Angeles, CA; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Isidore and Betty
Tabyanan of Bemiji, MN, and Rocky and Debbie Tabyanan of St.
Augustine, FL; a sister-in-law, Elaine Tabyanan of Santa Barbara, CA;
six nieces and three nephews.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.