Pastor Donald Tabb's Body Found in Gulf of Mexico After Boating Accident
Three days after he went missing during a boating accident, authorities said they found the body of 85-year-old founding pastor of The Chapel on Campus, Donald Tabb, in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday.
The Louisiana preacher was fishing with his friends, Jack Frey, 86, and Pat Anderson, 61, near the mouth of the Mississippi River last Wednesday when his boat capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. Authorities told The Advocate that his body was found at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday near the Southwest Pass, some 10 miles from where he was reported missing.
Tabb and his friends, were reportedly fishing on his 27-foot blue aluminum boat when it capsized after a big wave hit the boat about 7 a.m. near South Pass. He disappeared in the water near Port Eads in Plaquemines Parish shortly after the boat started to sink.
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In the wake of the confirmation of Tabb's death, Ben Jones, the Tabb family pastor, told The Advocate: "We know that this body was but a vessel and not the essence of Donald Tabb and that Donald Tabb's eternal soul and spirit is more alive today than ever in his life."
An obituary published in The Advocate remembered Tabb as an evangelist, veteran, cowboy and fisherman who died doing something he enjoyed.
"Donald Sheppard Tabb, beloved husband, father, friend, mentor, Army Ranger, fisherman, evangelist, cowboy, pastor, was launched from this world to Heaven on May 2nd, 2018, from one of his favorite places, the junction of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Of Mexico, while doing one of his favorite things, fishing, together with his lifelong friend Jack Frey," it said.
It also celebrated the love he had for his children and his wife of 60 years, Mary Alice Noyes Tabb, whom he once left at the altar before finally settling down as a married man.
"While in Texas, he successfully executed the greatest heist of his life when he persuaded Mary Alice Noyes, a maiden way out of his league, to elope with him, after having left her at the altar several months before," the obituary said. "She was the love of his life for 60 years and they had 5 children."
Tabb also worked at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, training counselors for Billy Graham Crusades for seven years.
"Donald was a renowned evangelist, preacher, teacher, story-teller, and Cajun raconteur. He loved people, was merciful and longsuffering and believed the best of his friends and parishioners; he loved preaching the Eternal Gospel of His Lord Jesus Christ and leading people to saving faith. His legacy is ensconced in the thousands of lives around the world who were nurtured in the faith by Donald. His encouragement, wisdom, love, stories, and laughter will be sorely missed, but we all take comfort in the knowledge that Donald is with Jesus where there is no pain, no tears, and Joy Inexpressible," his family said in his obituary.
His church announced Saturday that a celebration and remembrance of his life will take place on Monday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the LSU Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A lunch reception will follow in the sanctuary of The Chapel on the Campus, 3355 Dalrymple Drive in Baton Rouge. Attendees are urged to wear casual attire and cowboy boots.
