In Memoriam

Robert B. Tanner

Obituary

The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA)

March 20, 2018

Robert Tanner
1964 graduation

Robert Buckley Tanner, of Charlottesville, died on Friday, March 16, 2018, in Charlottesville.

Mr. Tanner and his wife, Carol, who survives him, had made their home in Charlottesville since 1988. Mr. Tanner was born in Ashland, Kentucky on July 14, 1942. He was the son of the late Robert M. Tanner and Willa Buckley Tanner, also of Ashland, Kentucky.

Mr. Tanner received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics summa cum laude from Yale University and a law degree from Yale Law School, where he served on the Board of Editors of the Yale Law Journal. He also received a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Virginia and completed course work for his PhD in American Economic History. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Robert Tanner
Recently

Prior to coming to Charlottesville to study American history at the University, Mr. Tanner and his family made their home in Ashland, Kentucky, where he was active in business, community, and church affairs.

He was president of the Rich gasoline marketing companies, headquartered in Ironton, Ohio, and served as a Director of the Ohio Petroleum Marketers Association. He was a member of the Ashland Board of Education, serving as Chairman in 1987, a member of the King's Daughters Hospital Board of Managers, and a longtime Director of the Third National Bank (now PNC Bank) of Ashland. He served as an Elder in the First Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Kentucky, Ohio, and American Bar Associations.

Since coming to Charlottesville, Mr. Tanner pursued his interests in history and travel. He also served as a board member and president of the Ednam Community Association.

In addition to his wife, Carol, survivors include his daughters, Jane Buckley Tanner and her husband, Tom Davis, of Richmond, and Ann Tanner Keifer and her husband, Kevin, of Mechanicsville; a son, William Watson Tanner of Charlottesville; and grandchildren, Katherine Grace Tanner and James Fraser Martin Tanner of Charlottesville, and Lydia Jane Keifer and Alexander Bruce Keifer of Mechanicsville.

Memorial services will be conducted at First Presbyterian Church in Ashland, Kentucky, on Saturday, March 24, 2018. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The First Presbyterian Church, 1600 Winchester Avenue, Ashland, KY 41101, or the Class of '60 Youth Education Fund, Paramount Arts Center, 1300 Winchester Avenue, Ashland, KY 41105-1546.