Early life[edit]
Tindall grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, graduated from Furman University there, and then served in the Pacific theater in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Forces. After the war he received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Personal life[edit]
He was married to Blossom McGarrity Tindall for 60 years. He was survived by her, his son Bruce Tindall, his daughter Blair Tindall, and his son-in-law Bill Nye.