In Tom’s childhood, the family moved several times due to his father’s position in the Air Force, finally settling in California in Tom’s teenage years. He was a hard worker all his life: to hear his brother Mike and his sister Trisha tell it, he started mowing lawns for pay as a young teen, and he got his first real job, as a busboy, on his sixteenth birthday. He graduated from high school in West Covina in 1967 and went on to earn his Associate Degree from Mt. San Antonio College. He served in multiple management roles during his career in retail, including at Alpha Beta, HomeBase, and CompUSA.
Tom and his wife Lynn were wed on September 9, 1978. The two were married nearly 45 years. They were side by side when he passed away peacefully in his sleep. He is survived by three children (Mathew, Shannon, Jason), two daughters-in-law (Torri, Lauren), and five grandchildren (Michael, Emily, Lucy, Patrick, and Séamus). He was predeceased by his first child, Michael. Tom cherished family time and spent summers on vacations with the entire family, including annual camping excursions to Big Bear and two big trips to Hawaii, one for his 40th anniversary with Lynn, the other just days before his passing.
A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, June 21, at 11am (rosary at 10:30am), at Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church in Apple Valley. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those who wish to express their condolences consider making a donation to City of Hope in Tom’s name: www.cityofhope.org/gift.
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