 Thomas Charles (Tom) Trafzer, 85, of Carmichael, CA, passed away 7/2/2012. Born 10/26/1926, in Marion, OH, second of five sons to Charles Watson Trafzer & Catherine Marguerite Creasap Trafzer, he remained in Marion until graduating from Harding Vocational High School in 1944 to attend Swarthmore, then Hobart, & eventually Cornell ('48) for a BS, Mechanical Engineering, all as a USN ROTC V12 participant. At Cornell he met his future wife of 60 years, Jane Anne Bird of York, PA, whom he wedded in 12/1950. His seven year naval career included stations in Providence, RI & Pearl City, HI. He retired his naval comission in '55 to move to Sacramento & join the swelling ranks at Aerojet as an engineer in the Liquid Rocket division, where he participated in the M1, Titan, & Apollo programs, before moving into Quality Control & finally to the Environmental Control program, prior to his 1988 retirement. Some years into his Aerojet career, he returned to school at Sacramento State, & successfully completed an MBA program. From the 1955 Arden-Arcade home, the family moved to El Dorado Hills in 1966, from whence the four children were launched from the nest. He & Jane remained there until moving to Eskaton Village Carmichael in 2005. He and his wife enjoyed travel & eventually explored portions of all the non-arctic continents, until travel became impractical. Tom was predeceased by his brothers Samuel, William, Harold, & Lawrence, and by Jane. He is survived by his children, Rebecca & John Gryka, Cynthia & Michael Choy, Deborah & Roger Healy, Thomas M. & Debra Trafzer, along with eleven grandchildren & nine great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 7, 2PM PDT, at the Lutheran Church of the Ressurection, 6365 Douglas Blvd, Granite Bay, CA, 95746, reception following. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the LCoR Columbarium Fund (address above) or to worldvision.org (PO Box 70399, Tacoma, WA 98481-0399).
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