Thomas Andrew McCall

Thomas Andrew McCall
Oct. 4, 1922 – May 28, 2015
Resident of Oakland
Thomas Andrew McCall passed away peacefully in the wee hours of the morning on May 28, 2015, at the age of 92 after living a full and active life.
Tom was born in Baltimore, MD., and graduated from Loyola College there. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the Navy and served honorably aboard the USS Valencia as an ensign. After the war, he was discharged in San Francisco where he met his future wife of 68 years, Elizabeth (Betty) Cordell. Following a brief courtship, Tom and Betty were married on August 20, 1946 and started a family which would eventually number 13 (8 boys and 5 girls). Tom and Betty moved to Oakland in 1959 to raise their growing brood and became lifelong residents. Tom's great joy in life was his family and he enthusiastically supported them all as they grew up. He was a hands-on father who welcomed each child and helped raise them from infants to adults. Tom's work career included various jobs as a math teacher, purchasing manager at Stokely-Van Camp, and sales executive at Wyman Forman Company. After retiring he developed a passion for swimming and swam competitively for more than 20 years, including winning a gold medal at the Senior Olympics! He also taught swimming at the Berkeley City Club and the Oakland YMCA. Tom and Betty were also active supporting members of PFLAG for many years. In his later years Tom managed an apartment building near Piedmont Avenue, a street where he was well known. He loved to walk the "Avenue", greeting strangers and friends alike, and took great delight in eliciting a smile from the children he met along the way. Tom's love for life and enthusiasm for family and friends touched most everyone he met and he will be dearly missed.
Tom and Betty were active members of St. Theresa's Catholic Church, St. Augustine's Catholic Church, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and later Plymouth United Church of Christ. Tom was predeceased by sons Kevin and Timothy and is survived by his beloved wife Betty, daughters-in-law Theresa McCall and Vicki McCall, sons Patrick (Patty), Duane, Gary, Alan, Ted (Cathy), and Christopher (Rose), and daughters Kathleen (Bob), Carol (Lee), Mary (Frank), Betsy (Chav) and Gail (Robert), 20 grandchildren & 4 great grandchildren.
A Mass celebrating his life will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes in Oakland on June 6 at 1:00pm. There will be a memorial service at Plymouth United Church of Christ in Oakland on June 20, 2015 at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your favorite charity.