Tracy Robin Thomas

Tracy's first friend was a slightly older boy named Jerry Gibbs. He lived just two houses away. Both of them were only children of their parents. As such, their relationship morphed into that of a brother and a sister, they were very close throughout their entire lives. They spoke on the phone almost every day until Jerry passed away from a variety of illnesses in (2018?).

Tracy attended Horace Ensign Jr. High and then went to Newport Harbor Highschool (1970 to 1974). She was an active member of the school's Drill Team. She marched on football fields and in parades, like the Costa Mesa Fish Fry Parade. Tracy eventually won a leadership position on the team. Tracy went to and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to round out her academic career.

After graduation from UCLA, Tracy stayed in Los Angeles. She found a position at Chiat/Day Advertising Agency for a while. Not really happy with the advertising world, Tracy went to the Los Angeles Times newspaper as a researcher for fifteen plus years.

For ALL her life Tracy was absolutely crazy about Elvis Presley, his looks, his movies and of course his music. Like many of his fans, Tracy made her pilgrimage to Graceland. She was terribly saddened by his death.

Tracy's favorite color was Emerald Green; then Royal Blue became an also favorite. She loved Mexican food and margaritas. At home a special treat was extra sharp cheddar cheese, green onions and Ruffle potato chips. Let's not forget two other favorites, iced tea and popcorn.

She loved to laugh at a good joke, a play on words or whatever tickled her funny bone. Tracy was hilarious in her own right. Dancing was one of her most favorite activities. She took Jazz Dance classes whenever she could. When Jazz was no longer an option due to the stress on her knees Tracy tried Yoga. She loved to read true crime stories but often scared herself reading them. Tracy also read biographies of celebrities that she liked.

Tracy was a very caring and generous person. She volunteered on the Rape Crisis Hot Line for several years.

Her brother, Jerry, once told a friend of hers that Tracy read about an organization that collected lots of Christmas toys for less fortunate children. The place was burglarized; all the gifts were stolen. Tracy's response was to purchase tons and tons of toys. She had them delivered to this organization anonymously. The only way this is known is Jerry wished it to be known. Tracy has also left her assets to charity.

When both of her parents were diagnosed with different levels of Alzheimer's disease Tracy had to place them in separate care facilities. She visited both of them almost every weekend and checked on their progress by phone every day. To say that Tracy loved her parents is an understatement. She put them first in her life. She spent her youth taking care of them. Instead of placing something about herself on her memorial marker Tracy put, "My parents are my Heroes".

To sum up a life in a few paragraphs is a hard thing to do. Please feel free to add your own stories of Tracy.

Tracy, we will treasure our memories of you, and you will be forever missed.

Goodbye our sweet smiling girl.