Changes

Tabarlet was born to Adolph Rueben Tabarlet (1885-1945) and the former Evelyn Marie Laborde (1880-1946)<ref name=findagrave/> in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish. He was educated in Marksville public schools and attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute. During [[World War I]], he served at [[Guantanamo Bay]], [[Cuba]], in the [[United States Marine Corps]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site37.php|title="Tabarlet, Joseph Odell", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association|accesdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref> 

Tabarlet was born to Adolph Rueben Tabarlet (1885-1945) and the former Evelyn Marie Laborde (1880-1946)<ref name=findagrave/> in Marksville in Avoyelles Parish. He was educated in Marksville public schools and attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute. During [[World War I]], he served at [[Guantanamo Bay]], [[Cuba]], in the [[United States Marine Corps]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=http://www.lahistory.org/site37.php|title="Tabarlet, Joseph Odell", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography''|publisher=Louisiana Historical Association|accesdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref> 

Tabarlet and his father became partners in a bakery business in Glenmora in south Rapides Parish and in Jonesboro. On June 5, 1926, Tabarlet married the former Mamman Mallette of Glenmora, daughter of Julius Gibson Mallette (1886-1934) and Daisy Belle Johnson (1890-1973) of Longleaf in western Rapides Parish. The couple had two children, Bobby Eugene Tabarlet (1927–1999), an educator in [[Shreveport]], and Leah Marye Blythe (born 1942).<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88082682|title=Joseph Odell Tabarlet|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref>

Tabarlet and his father became partners in a bakery business in Glenmora in south Rapides Parish and in Jonesboro. On June 5, 1926, Tabarlet married the former Mamman Mallette of Glenmora, daughter of Julius Gibson Mallette (1886-1934) and Daisy Belle Johnson (1890-1973) of Longleaf in western Rapides Parish. The couple had two children, Bobby Eugene Tabarlet (1927–1999), an educator in [[Shreveport]], and Leah Marye Blythe (born 1942)<ref name=findagrave>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88082682|title=Joseph Odell Tabarlet|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref> of Farmerville in Union Parish.

Tabarlet ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1936, losing to L. L. Kilpatrick. Tabarlet was first elected mayor of Jonesboro in 1938 and was re-elected in 1942. He resigned the office in 1944, midway in his second term, to serve as the home service representative of the [[American Red Cross]] and thereafter as the veterans' service officer for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs. He returned to the office of mayor in 1948, when his successor died in office. He was elected to a full term in 1950 but served less than a year thereafter because of his death at the age of fifty.<ref name=bio/>

Tabarlet ran unsuccessfully for the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1936, losing to L. L. Kilpatrick. Tabarlet was first elected mayor of Jonesboro in 1938 and was re-elected in 1942. He resigned the office in 1944, midway in his second term, to serve as the home service representative of the [[American Red Cross]] and thereafter as the veterans' service officer for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs. He returned to the office of mayor in 1948, when his successor died in office. He was elected to a full term in 1950 but served less than a year thereafter because of his death at the age of fifty.<ref name=bio/>