Obituaries

Condolences

• 10/01/2021

  T. J. Bowman

  Words of his that forever stand in my mind, "I havea low tolerance for stupidity." I feel those words have effectively defined him throughout his life.

• 10/01/2021

  T. J. Bowman

  My first fond memory of his that comes to mind is when my father visited me in boot camp. I know it was difficult for them to show up but both he and my mother made it.

• 10/01/2021

  T. J. Bowman

  Another memory, in his crippled state his eyes lit up when I brought our then baby girl to see him. He was the happiest I had seem him in years. As time went on however, that bright glare in his eye disappeared. In spite of that he always flipped through my pictures of his grand daughter with some earnest.

• 10/01/2021

  Michael E Bowman

  My parents divorced when I was young (13), and when my step mother came to America, she quickly decided that having a "new family" would be best if I was not around, so she made my father's life miserable until he finally told me, "you are almost grown up, so you need to leave, so I can have peace". So I did. I never stopped loving my Dad, I just never got to do anything with him; not really. I have two brothers and a sister, I only hear from one brother, and he turned out really good, I'm very proud of him. All I can say for my Dad, is... Vaya Con Dios, Dad. I hope you are in peace, I hope you are with the Lord. -Michael

• 10/01/2021

  T. J. Bowman

  He did his best with the cards he was dealt.

• 10/01/2021

  Sanders Fabares

  I wish that I was able to have had the chance to know Tom better. He seemed like a very genuine person that was firm in his beliefs and he had great taste in books and movies. I first met him in 2003, after I started dating his daughter, Jay. This was after his stroke, but he was still able to communicate pretty well via his laptop and alphabet sheet. I remember him explaining his latest scheme to win the lottery. I remember his smile when he talked about superman, Star Trek, republic serials, and westerns. I remember the biggest smile years later when I asked him for Jay's hand in marriage. It meant a lot to me to be able to ask him and that smile and firm hand grasp is a moment that I will always cherish. The years after that, I was able to visit him more when we moved up to the Bay Area. We watched some movies, had some pies from Nations per his request, and spoke about what his kids were up to. We would talk about all sorts of great films from Hombre to Collosus: The Forbin project. Jay had shared so many of his favorite movies with me because he had once shared them with her. Like my dad, he had a great appreciation for the golden age of sci fi and westerns. His eyes would light up and he would laugh whenever I mentioned things like rocket man or the twilight zone episodes. Although I was saddened as his condition deteriorated further over the years I feel blessed to be able to know him the little that I did. I feel that through knowing his daughter I have gained more of an appreciation for the man that he was.

• 10/01/2021

  T. J. Bowman

  He showed me history could be awesome, among other things. The Hunt for the Battleship Bismarck Victory at Sea John Wayne Old serials he used to watch Old music Star Trek General Patton O.K. Corral / Wyatt Earp Clint Eastwood's Westerns Dirty Harry Hombre (Old Paul Newman flick) The Wild Bunch Tons of things. More, also. Colossus, the Forbin Project "Fail Safe." Basically big things from his generation were imbued in his kids or should have been if we'd listened. It helped me see the world now as it really is without the blinders on, to have a different perspective from everyone else helps understand their failings, similarly to how an editor reviews someone's work. He helped me see things differently. It is both a blessing and a curse. In the end I thank him for it.