Craig Cornell Tarler

Craig Cornell Tarler, 82, died Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012, at the Burke Hospice care facility in Valdese following a brief illness.Born June 2, 1930, in New York, New York, he was the son of the late Irving Cornell Tarler and Elizabeth Morgan Tarler. Mr. Tarler was a 1952 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English. Following his graduation from college, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving from 1952 to 1958. His primary duty station was Hokkaido, Japan.After completing his military service, Mr. Tarler worked in public relations for several major corporations in New York City, where he earned a reputation for honesty, hard work, and fairness. In 1990, he purchased a small pipe tobacco manufacturing company, Amar Blends, and through innovative marketing techniques and sheer force of will transformed it into Cornell & Diehl Inc., one of the premier manufacturers and distributors of hand-blended pipe tobacco in the world. Mr. Tarler was a member of Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton, of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, and was a former member of the Doylestown, Pennsylvania Lions Club.Mr. Tarler is survived by his wife of more than 61 years and longtime business partner, Joanne Patricia Diehl Tarler of Morganton; daughter Sally T. Learned and her husband Samuel Learned of Morganton; daughter Pamela T. Hayes and her husband Robert Hayes of Southport; son Christopher C. Tarler of Morganton; granddaughter Caroline Poteat Gandy and her husband Williams Gandy of Boone; and granddaughter Jennifer Leigh Poteat and her fiancé Jordan Ellis of Asheville.A memorial service for Mr. Tarler will be held Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in Morganton with the Revs. Larry Britt and Francis King officiating. The interment of ashes will take place at a later date at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Southport, NC.In lieu of flowers, the Tarler family requests that friends and family complete an act of kindness or donate to a favorite charity in honor and memory of Craig’s loving and generous spirit.The family wishes to express their sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the staff of Morganton Internal Medicine, Blue Ridge Healthcare System, and Burke Hospice and Palliative Care for their remarkable skill and compassion.Sossoman Funeral Home and Crematory Center is assisting the family with the arrangements.