Jeff Dean
- July 6th, 2022
I first noticed something special about Tom in Mr. Price's 5th grade class at Hilltop Elementary. We were supposed to bring in something we made, most were pretty basic items. Tom brought in a small electric fan that he made out of a shoebox, wires, resistors, an electric motor and a battery pack, compeletely soldered and wired...it worked like a champ. We started hanging around together and, by 9th grade, we had already wired the west half of the buildings at Hilltop Jr High for closed circuit TV, and we ran the Audio Visual projectors and tape machines (which means we hurriedly set up the classes and then hightailed it off campus to the deli store next door and often hid out in the drill tower at Fire Station #2 for a half hour - my Dad was a Captain there.)Tom lived with his Grandad on Robert Avenue, across the street from Wes Irwin. Grandad would take us camping out to Kitchen Creek and we hauled motorcycles along. Tom let me ride his Honda Trail 90. Later he got this red Honda XL175 and I took the above photo of him on the maiden ride at the Board of Ed lot on J Street, next to the fire station. (BTW, Tom's Grandad also brewed his own beer at home...heh heh)
Tom's birthday was June 1st I think, mine was June 25th. So, when we turned 16, he got his driver's license a couple weeks before me, and just before my DMV driving test, he took me on the driving route that the DMV testers used. So, I got to practice everything before my test.
Tom was a gifted, giving person. He shared everything he had with Wes, Rick next door and me. He and Wes got me a job at FedMart on Plaza Blvd, where they both worked. Tom never stopped giving. It's no wonder he became an engineer in his career...he was a genius. He had that '55 Chevy, later a '67 Camaro...he and Grandad also restored a small Datsun convertible roadster. Always, building, inventing....
We last emailed each other in about 2003 or so, but never got together in person.
Sad to read about his passing. What an incredibly talented, great guy and a great friend.
