Thomas Wesley "Tom" Gee Jr.

WORLAND, Wyo. - Thomas Wesley "Tom" Gee Jr., longtime Worland resident and businessman, died Monday, April 16, 2007, at St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.
Tom was born on April 8, 1929, in Alliance, Neb., the son of Thomas W. Sr. and Marie Ann (Gibson) Gee. His early years were spent in Alliance before his father and uncle George Gibson purchased the Dorman Hotel in Worland in 1938. In 1939, the family moved to Worland, and held a contest to name the hotel, with Washakie Hotel being chosen the new name.
Tom attended school in Worland, where he was well liked by the students and the faculty. He played sports, lettering three years in football and was a member of the American Legion Baseball team. During the summers in high school, he worked for the Spratt Ranch at Lost Cabin, Wyo., where he became a real "Wyoming Cowboy" and "frustrated rancher." He graduated from Washakie County High School in 1947.
He attended Denver University for one year before transferring to Cornell University in New York, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in hotel and restaurant management. Tom then joined the United States Air Force and served as a billeting officer in Newfoundland, Canada. Following his discharge, he went to work for the Westin Hotel chain, first working in Spokane, Wash., at the Davenport Hotel. He was promoted and transferred to the Olympic Hotel in Seattle, and to the Benson Hotel in Portland, Ore. His next assignment was to the Winthrop Hotel in Tacoma.
While in Tacoma, he met his next door neighbor Christiane Christensen, who became his Danish sweetheart, and he married her on May 21, 1960, in Tacoma, Wash. In 1960, the couple moved to Worland to help run his parents' hotel following the death of his father and uncle. In 1961, they bought the Washakie Hotel from his mother and his aunt Ethel Gibson.
The couple operated the hotel and the Washakie Grill & Matador Room for many years, and also bought the Sun Valley Motel. They were partners in the Town House Motor Inn and Pancake House. After selling those firms, they established the Settler's Inn in Worland and operated it until 2000. He will be fondly remembered for his "traveling hot dog emporium" cart he pushed on Main Street during parades and "crazy days."
Tom became the manager of the Strutting Grouse Restaurant at the Jackson Hole County Club for several years, was the first manager of the clubhouse operations of the Teton Pines Golf Resort, and later became the manager of Jenny Lake Lodge. He and his wife lived at Pacific Creek while living in Jackson Hole.
Tom was a very active member of the Worland community. He had served as the president of the Worland Chamber of Commerce and was named the Worland Community Builder of the Year in 1980. He also served as president of the Colorado-Wyoming Hotel and Restaurant Assn. and Worland Kiwanis Club; started the United Fund in Worland; and was a member of the Elks Lodge and the Worland Country Club. He was a former Boy Scout, having attained the remarkable rank of Eagle Scout, and then was a scoutmaster in Worland. He also helped with the local DeMolay Chapter for several years.
Tom was appointed to the Wyoming Travel Commission by Gov. Hathaway, serving from 1967 to 1971, and where he served as the chairman of the commission. Gov. Hathaway also appointed him to serve on the State Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse Committee, and the Old West Trail Foundation. He hosted the first winter trip of the International Travel Writers Assn.'s to Yellowstone Park for the travel commission. He also was instrumental in promoting the Girl Scout National Center West to Washakie County.
Tom was a member of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Worland, where he served on the Vestry for several terms, including the positions of Junior and Senior Warden.
He and Christiane enjoyed traveling, especially their frequent trips to Denmark to visit with family. He was an avid horseman who loved his horses and his dogs.
He is survived by his wife, Christiane Gee of Worland; T.J. (Carol) Woosley, Todd Woosley, and David (Michael) Woosley all of Seattle; and by a host of friends throughout the world.
The funeral for Tom will be held on Tuesday, April 24, at 10 a.m., at St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Worland. Rev. Joe Galligan and Bishop William Wolfrum will officiate at the service. A reception will follow the service in the Parish Hall. He will be buried at Riverview Memorial Gardens in Worland following the church service.
Memorials may be made in his name to the Endowment Fund of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, PO Box 84, Worland, WY 82401-0084.
The arrangements are in the care of Veile Mortuary in Worland.