Tommye Gayle Hatten

IN LOVING MEMORY OF TOMMYE HATTEN

                                                                                                               From Her Family

Tommye Hatten left this world for a better place on July 8th, 2021, at the age of 70.  Tommye was a person who deserves more, in passing, than just the facts of her life (birth, education, marriage, etc.).  However, she had so many people in her life it is difficult to tell her story without fear of overlooking something or someone.  Regardless, here is a summary of a life well-lived.

     Tommye came into this world on August 22nd, 1950, in Bell Gardens, California.  She joined three sisters; Kay (Kay Steele, La Mirada, CA), Paula (Paula Duval, deceased May 2012) and Sue (Sue McHenry, La Mirada, CA); and her parents Margie Thomas (deceased September 2012) and Ralph Thomas (deceased 1993).  So, yes, that made her Tommye Thomas.  We can only imagine the fun her young friends had with that name, in addition to the fact that she is a girl with a traditionally boy’s name.  And we will never know how many times she had situations like being assigned to boy’s gym class. She tried to go by her middle name of Gayle, but with five sisters, you can imagine how that worked out for her.

Even though, judging by her name, it appears her parents were hoping for a boy, she was later joined by two younger sisters, who strangely enough were not named Bobbie and Taylor.  No, apparently her parents had given up on the boy idea and thus we have Roxie (Roxanne Talbert, Chino Hills, CA) and Betty (Betty Pena, La Mirada, CA). 

Tommye, her mother, and five sisters lived in Bell Gardens, California where she graduated from high school in 1969.  She married and raised two wonderful children; Lori (Lori Miller married to Stephen Miller, San Diego, CA) and Jeff (Jeff Niebling, Costa Mesa, CA).

In 1996 Tommye married Donald Hatten.  In 1997 she was diagnosed with a serious cancer.  This could have been the end of this story, instead she fought this to a victory and began a second chance at life, which she lived to the fullest. In 2000, she and Don left on a planned extended trip on their sailboat.  What Don didn’t know was that Tommye had figured out how to get started with having grandchildren – leave on a multi-year trip (kind of like if you want to make it rain, wash your car – we know, that analogy doesn’t work in California, especially Southern California; there should be a song about never raining in California – but we digress, back to the story)

 Sure enough, in 2001 the first grandchild was born.  Isabella Miller – now a junior at Chapman University.  Soon to be followed by Owen Miller, now a senior at San Diego High School and Jacob Niebling, now a junior at Trabuco Hills High School. The boat trip continued into 2003 with numerous flights back to California for family visits.  The trip ended in Florida with the sale of the boat and a drive back to California and a new home in Fullerton. 

So, at this point, Tommye’s family includes the everlasting remarkably close relationship with her five sisters and mother, her children and three grandchildren: oh, yes, and a husband. And don’t forget countless friends.   Retired life was great:  grandkids, sisters, big house with a pool, RV trips all over the country, including Alaska, and a wonderful big standard poodle named Cosmo. However, during this time she lost her mother and sister Paula.

In 2012 there was a move to a smaller house in a great community in Chino Hills, CA.  As with all her travels and residences, Tommye immediately made numerous new friends.  Wherever she was, Tommye was always known for her great skills at cooking.  She was always the go-to person when it came to cooking. Her cupcakes were in high demand for parties.  She enjoyed cooking, and there is probably not a cooking show episode that she has not seen.  In addition to cooking, she was always the person providing excellent seamstress services for weddings and other occasions. 

In mid-2019 Tommye was once again diagnosed with cancer and began a long struggle to beat it again – and this time during a pandemic. Also, during this period, she lost her brother-in-law, Cliff McHenry in 2020.  Cliff was more like a brother than a brother-in-law, since he knew all the girls from a very young age (he was married to sister Sue for 53 years).  He was always the “go to guy” for anything that a mother and six daughters could not handle – from car problems to whatever, Cliff was the guy.

Tommye fought her cancer battle for two long years, never complaining and always optimistic.  But it was not a battle that could be won.  Tommye will be missed by family and friends – she was the ultimate example of a person everyone instantly recognized as a loving, fun, caring person, and an individual you wanted to have as a friend.

Rest in peace, Tommye – you have more than earned it; time can never fade our memories of you.

Services for Tommye will be on Saturday, July 24th at 11:00 a.m.  at McAulay & Wallace Mortuaries – 902 North Harbor Blvd, Fullerton, CA.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the American Cancer Society in honor of Tommye will be greatly appreciated.  https://www.cancer.org/involved/donate.html  or 800-227-2345.