A lifelong educator and Member of the British Empire has died at the age of 100.

The funeral of Thomas Neville Tatem, a father of three, was held at St. James Church on Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Tatem was the the founding principal of the Warwick Secondary School, which is now Spice Valley Middle School.

Prior to founding Warwick Secondary in 1967, he was the deputy principal and teacher of mathematics and science at Berkeley Institute. He also supervised the Bermuda Census in 1960, 1970 and 1980.

Education Minister Randy Horton — a former pupil of Mr. Tatem who said he was positively influenced by him — led the tributes at the funeral.

“Mr. Tatem was a teacher of mathematics par excellence, one who lovingly, meticulously and effectively introduced his students to the marvels of arithmetic, the intricacies of simultaneous equations and the genius of Pythagoras’s theorem,” said Mr. Horton, himself a former principal at Warwick Secondary School.

“For every generation of Berkeleyites, the name Thomas Neville Tatem, T.N.T., dynamite, will be forever associated with strict discipline.

“He demanded the highest standards of his students in this area and would, on occasion, like ignited dynamite, seemingly explode when students misbehaved or otherwise disappointed him.

“Yet he always discharged his responsibilities as a master disciplinarian with fairness, compassion and understanding; his explosions and subsequent lectures were almost tempered by gentle lectures, reminders of the importance of good conduct, even the occasional twinkle in his kind eyes.

“I owe so, so much to this great man, my mentor, exemplar and friend. Bermuda’s education system generally owes so much to this giant of a man.”

Mr. Horton said education bosses currently attempting to turn around the Island’s failing schools system could draw inspiration from Mr. Tatem.

“Reflection upon the sterling achievements and brilliant example of this fine Bermudian reminds us that we have in our midst the resources, human and otherwise, that, coupled with commitment, industry and belief in ourselves, will lead to the first class education system that all of us in the community have a right to expect.” Describing Mr. Tatem as a man who “made no enemies”, Mr. Horton added: “He was a gentleman in every sense of the word: a man of God, a man of principle, a man of integrity, a man of honour, a man of humility, a man of courage.”

After retiring from teaching in 1970, Mr. Tatem went on to be a personnel officer at the Piggly Wiggly Supermarket.

He was also a member of Gideon’s International, which places Bibles in hotel rooms, a Fellow of the Bermuda College and a Justice of the Peace.

Even after retiring from teaching Mr. Tatem continued to guide the youth of Bermuda at Cobbs Hill Gospel Chapel where he was a Sunday school teacher.

He was given the Member of the British Empire in 2002. The honour is bestowed on no more than 1,464 people worldwide every year for their service to their country and was established in 1917.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy, and children Albert (Bonnie), Lucille Beresford and Dorothy May Ralph as well as five grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.