July 19, 2022 – 86 Years Old
Tig Tarlton died peacefully at his home in San Luis Obispo on July 19, 2022. He is survived by his two sons, Dave Tarlton (Janet), John Tarlton (Jenny), son-in-law Jim DeLoach (Maggie), grandchildren Tom Tarlton, Michele Tarlton, Jack Tarlton, Cloe Tarlton, Cooke Tarlton, Kathy DeLoach (Krishna), Mike DeLoach and great granddaughter, Lily Chodavarapu.
Tig was born in Missouri and attended Culver Military Academy in Indiana. He met the love of his life, Marilyn, while singing in the Stanford Memorial Church choir their freshman year, when he arrived at Stanford University sight unseen to study petroleum engineering.
It was during his time as student manager of Stanford’s chemistry lab that Tig developed ideas that would become the basis for a future family business co-founded by Tig (engineer) and Marilyn (architect & teacher). After graduating with master’s degrees from Stanford, Tig & Marilyn were shipped off to Virginia where Tig served two years as an officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers, including clearing snow from the streets of Washington DC for the inauguration of President Kennedy. After completing their service, Tig and Marilyn moved to Southern California, where Tig had jobs in petroleum production and cryogenic gases. In 1969, they relocated to Los Altos, CA. After another series of jobs, first in water purification and later in real estate development, Tig & Marilyn founded Tarlton Properties in 1980. The company’s first large project was Dumbarton Distribution Center, to be later renamed Menlo Business Park (now Menlo Park Labs). Tig and Marilyn’s vision for Menlo Business Park was for a collection of industrial buildings at the foot of the new Dumbarton Bridge that would house the science companies proliferating from Stanford University. Their vision for the company was for an egalitarian, engineering and operations focused real estate company with a relentless focus on tenant needs and a flair for design. The team at Tarlton Properties and Tarlton Foundation carry on Tig & Marilyn’s vision today.
Tig was passionate about giving back to his community and served in various capacities at the Children’s Health Council, Midpeninsula Hospice, Stanford Associates, YMCA, Pacific School of Religion and Foothills Congregational Church of Los Altos to name a few. He was quick to lend a helping hand, often with a wry smile and a twinkle in his eye. He was a family man, and he loved spending time with his many grandchildren – particularly when he had the opportunity to teach them sailing or woodworking.
Tig and Marilyn were devastated by the death of their daughter Lorrie Tarlton DeLoach in 2001, after a nearly decade long battle with cancer. Tig and Marilyn were married for 53 years when sadly Marilyn also passed away from cancer. At the time of his death, Tig had just finished talking to his beloved sister, Toni, and was looking forward to being reunited with his wife and daughter.
A celebration of life service will be held at Stanford Memorial Church on September 29 at 4PM.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tarlton Foundation (www.tarltonfoundation.org) in support of primary cancer research.