Tatum was born on February 9th, 1998, in the middle of the Winter Olympics. When she arrived, she had a shock of black hair and solemn back eyes, gazing at everything around her. She was named after her Great Grandfather Willard Tate. She was a happy baby and didn\'t cry often. As her black eyes turned to dark brown, she gazed at the world around her. She was quick to do everything- stand, crawl, talk, walk, and observe people. Early in life, she noticed that some children didn\'t want to play with others because of how they looked, dressed, or how they talked. We spent hours discussing this at home. It made her incredibly sad at a very young age.

When she was five, her younger brother was born. Alexander William was her best friend throughout her life, they played lacrosse, fished, argued over the front seat, and spent countless hours in the backseat on family trips. She was fiercely protective of him and would remain so throughout her life. She only wanted the best for him.

In 5th grade, she found a list of the classics and decided to read all of them. From this endeavor, she realized that what happened in her local school had been occurring for thousands of years and continued worldwide over race, religion, wealth, and a myriad of other issues. It seemed so much for such a young mind to grasp. As one of her friend\'s recently stated,\" she carried simple love for all of humanity.\"

As Tatum moved forward in school she achieved more than I can remember between Honor Rolls and Dean\'s Lists. She was President of the National Honor Society in High School and earned a Redhawk Merit Scholarship to Miami University. While at Miami she was a Student Instructor in the Biology Department, a Student Senator in the Associated Student Government, and President of the College Democrats. Tatum was also part of several research labs- a particularly proud day was when her first journal article was published.

Tatum had become increasingly involved in issues relating to women and minorities since high school. She was particularly concerned about vulnerable groups that lacked a voice. Her friends described her as \"fearless\"; there wasn\'t an institution, protest, or position she was afraid to take. At Miami, she became engaged in the fight against the university to provide better mental health services for sexual assault victims. Back home in Detroit, she was increasingly engaged in human rights issues across the city. I often wondered why Tatum had neither time nor money, but everything she had went to people in need,

When the pandemic hit, Tatum put her graduation plans on hold and joined a team of pharmacists and techs traveling around Michigan nursing homes to deliver the vaccine. It was a challenging experience, particularly meeting patients who hadn\'t had visitors in several years. That was hard for Tatum to understand. Equally difficult were the issues with insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies causing problems for her beloved patients. This triggered a change in Tatum\'s post-graduation plans to a focus on Medical Pharmacology.

But Tatum had a fun side as well. She loved her dog. She loved gardening and spending time in the co-op garden at school, creating nutritious meals. Tatum was also an avid weight-lifter since early high school. Tatum loved music, particularly 70\'s music. She also loved festivals and rallies. She was an avid sports fan- you name a sport, she followed it. But her favorites were football and lacrosse. And she loved being out on the golf course. Growing up in Michigan, Tatum was a water baby. She loved to kayak, canoe, camp, and swim. She enjoyed annual trips to Florida and cruises.

Tatum returned to Miami this spring to finish her final semester and graduate. She was so excited about her next steps, to move forward with graduate school. Tatum was writing her senior thesis about the parallels between historic pandemics in underdeveloped countries and having fun with her friends.

On Saturday, March 19th Tatum quietly passed away in her sleep.

When I think of Tatum, I picture her reading a thick book about some medical breakthrough or human rights issue while lying on her bed, on a beach, in a hotel room, or in a hammock with her dog. She looks up at me with a big smile and says \"Guess what I\'m reading?\"

Tatum, we love you forever.
John 5:24

Instead of flowers, please make donations to Forgotten Harvest https://www.forgottenharvest.org/donate/
In memory of Tatum Moleski
29455 Juneau Lane Farmington Hills, MI 48336