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Thomas Giere Obituary
Thomas P. GIERE Thomas Peter Giere, 69, passed away Saturday, May 7, 2011 at his home in Auburn, WA. One of three children, Pete (as he was always known) was born April 3, 1942 to the late Dr. Ellis K. and Rose A. Giere in Ellensburg, WA. He graduated high school from Tacoma's Bellarmine Prep in 1960 and went on to complete his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University, earning a BA in English in 1964. A veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a an ROTC cadet while at Georgetown and served in the United States Air Force from 1964-1968, attaining the rank of Captain. Upon completing his tour of duty, Pete attended law school at the University of Washington, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 1971 and becoming a member of the Order of the Coif, an honor society reserved for those law students graduating in the top 10% of their class. After a stint as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, Pete joined the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as Chief Counsel, working in the Anchorage, Portland, and Seattle offices until his retirement in 2000. He was preceded in death by sister Nan (1935-1987) and is survived by brother John W. Giere of Dillon, MT; wife Karla J. Giere of Auburn; sons Peter E. Giere of Renton, Gregory A.K. Giere of Seattle, and Troy P. Moss of Auburn; as well as daughter Tonia M. Moss of Sumner and five grandchildren. A viewing will be held Tuesday, May 17 from 4-7pm at Yahn & Son Funeral Home in Auburn, WA (www.yahnandson.com) and the memorial service will be Wednesday, May 18 at 1pm, also at Yahn & Son. A private urn committal will be held Friday, May 20 at Tahoma National Cemetery. To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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for Thomas Giere
3 Entries
Greg Giere
May 17, 2011
Love you Dad.
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David Wholey
May 16, 2011
Uncle Peter as I best remember had a crew cut, red convertible, split grill corvette and great smile - he had great energy and style.
I can remember the extremely steep mud luge "Ride for life" into the ice cold lake he talked me into trying. He told me he grew up doing this all the time and not too worry it was easy. I still remember reaching out trying to grab exposed roots as my skinny body achieved light speed and my swim trunks produced a true heated-by- friction atomic wedgie. My mother Nan always enjoyed bringing the Wholey boys from Pittsburgh to visit Uncle Peter and the "wild northwest".
Memories of Uncle Peter to this day make me smile. Many of the adventures that I experienced can be tied to my encounters with Uncle Peter.
My condolences to Peters Family, his wife Karla and their children. I hope to stay in touch and welcome their visit to Santa Cruz at any time.
Michael Wholey
May 15, 2011
I am sorry for the passing of Uncle Peter. He was a very nice gentleman. I remember sitting in his convertable Corvette when I was a young boy and admiring the car. He drove quickly as I do now.
I will never forget callling him at midnight when I was making a layover in Anckorage on route to the far east: he was so cordial and easy to carry on a conversation so late at night. Though there were long periods of time between our communications, it was always easy to pick up the phone and chat with Peter. I will miss those calls.
I give my condolences to Peter's wife Karla and the children and hope to stay in touch.
Michael Wholey
San Antonio, TX
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