Thomas J Traughber

A service will be held for Thomas J. Traughber at 2:00 pm on Sunday, August 21, 2011 in Skyline Memorial Gardens Chapel who passed away on August 16, 2011 at age 96. Thomas was born to Raymond A. and Inis (Hesseltine) Traughber on February 28, 1915 in St. Joseph Missouri. He was the oldest of 8 siblings. As a child Thomas learned early about hard work and helped on the family ranch. As a teenager the depression started and his family decided to make their way west to Oregon for better opportunities.

When Thomas arrived in Oregon he went to work for the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation Corp) which was one of the many programs President Roosevelt initiated to help people get work during those hard times. After 1 year of working for the C.C.C. Thomas went on to work for Southern Pacific Railroad in the Timber area. Thomas also worked at the old Birdseye Cannery in Hillsboro where he met Twila Wolfe and asked her on a date. When he went to pick her up she was not ready, so he decided to take out her sister Mable instead. There was an undeniable connection between Thomas and Mable and on April 9th of 1937 they were married. They became incredibly close to Mable’s siblings and in-laws and every Friday night would play cards, eat and even go hunting afterwards.

Thomas went on to work at the shipyards during war times to help with the efforts and eventually learned the skill of carpentry. He began to build homes and continued to do so until his retirement. In 1961 he and Mable purchased a motel in Seaside, Oregon named “The Driftwood” and they owned and operated it until their retirement in 1981. Once retiring, Thomas and Mable relocated to Bay City, Oregon until February of this year when they moved to Hillsboro.

Thomas was described as a man who would give the shirt off his back to someone in need and helped many of his family members build their first homes. Most would think that retirement and age might stop a person, not Thomas. He ran a boat until he turned 80 years old, walked 6 miles every day up until 4 years ago and split his own wood just this year. He realized the importance of keeping active and took pride in being able to do so.

Thomas is survived by his wife, Mable; his son, Jim L. Traughber and daughter, Terri Gibson; a brother, Leslie “Bud” Traughber; 5 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren with one on the way this coming October.

The family suggests contributions be made in Thomas’ name to Bay City United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 3135, Bay City, Oregon 97107 or Hospice of Washington County.

Arrangements under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Portland, OR.