Carlton Tarkington

Carlton B. Tarkington, age 78, died Tuesday, January 20, 2015, from complications of heart surgery.He was born June 2, 1936, to the late Robert and Martha Tarkington. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Rebecca Ann Florence Tarkington.He is survived by his wife, Jane Duncan Tarkington; son, Bruce Lee Tarkington (Jaclyn); daughters, Julie LaPenna (Richard), Jill Baltz (Christopher), Jennie Mills (Kevin) and Jan Blanton (John); grandchildren, Samuel and Joseph Tarkington, Andrew, Julianne, Samuel, Jacqueline, Jillian, Caroline, Elizabeth, Rachel, and Joshua LaPenna, Victoria and Isabella Baltz, Hannah, Bryson, and Kayla Mills, and JJ and Jacob Blanton.A Marine Corps reservist, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Studies and Social Sciences from Peabody College in 1959 and a law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1963. He enjoyed a successful career as an executive with West Publishing and then founded Edinburgh Investments in 1996. He also founded two banks, the Bank of Bellevue and PrimeTrust Bank, which merged with Bank of the South in 2006.He was a charter member and elder of West Meade Fellowship Church. He was also a devoted member of the Wise Men’s Bible Study Group with his cousin, Ray Tarkington.He was a charter member and youngest member of the Metropolitan Council of Nashville. He was an active alumnus with Vanderbilt, serving on the law school’s Board of Advisors (formerly known as the National Council) and endowing the Tarkington Chair of Teaching Excellence and the Tarkington Suite, which includes the library’s reading room, a computer lab and a computer room. He was named the Law School’s distinguished alumnus in 2011.Visitation with the family will be Thursday from 4-8 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. until the service at West Meade Fellowship Church. Funeral services will be held at West Meade Fellowship Church on Friday at 1 p.m. officiated by Bob Pearce. Pallbearers will be the Embers Class at West Meade Fellowship. A private burial service will follow.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: West Meade Fellowship Church Building Fund, 277 Old Hickory Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37221.Nashville Cremation Center is handling the arrangements, .