Thomas Lammers

1928 - 2017

Thomas R. Lammers

Oct 19, 1928 - Feb 2, 2017

Passed away peacefully in Alamo on February 2, 2017. He was born in Chico to Arthur and Minnie Lammers. At age nine he was infected with Polio which left his right leg paralyzed, but his spirit intact. He graduated from Chico High School in 1946. He then attended Butte College for one year, UCLA the following year, before obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley in 1950. While attending Berkeley he met Mary Josephine Corr, a history student from Oakland, and the two were married in 1952. 

To finance his education, Tom worked summers in construction with the California Division of Highways, now the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans). This launched him on a 30-year journey with the organization. Fresh from college he began work as a junior civil engineer in the Division's District 3 office in Marysville. In 1961 he transferred to the District 7 office in Los Angeles, rising to the position of Deputy Director. In 1972 he transferred to San Francisco to serve for nine years as the Director for District 4. In 1980 he went out of state to serve as Arizona's State Engineer for Highways until 1984. He then left the public sector to join Bechtel Corporation, first as director of the highways program for the Jubail and Ras Al Khair industrial cities project in Saudi Arabia, then Vice President for Highways, Bridges and Tunnels Worldwide until his retirement in 1997. 

Tom was an enthusiastic and skilled craftsman, beginning with powered model airplanes as a child, to building a home for his parents while in college, the transformation of six houses into homes, and an extensive portfolio of artisan, made-to-order woodwork for any and all members of the family. 

And it was indeed family that was Tom's most cherished asset, He was committed to his wife Mary, and to building a healthy, happy and harmonious family. Tom was dubbed Hollywood Handsome by the Los Angeles Times, and Mary was his Grace Kelly. There was no destination, nearby or abroad, she would suggest that Tom would not welcome the opportunity to explore with her.

Tom's professional responsibilities never interfered with a family birthday or holiday. He rarely missed a family evening and took pride in the family's unwavering desire to come together for whatever reason to share a cocktail and a home-cooked meal.

Tom was preceded in death by Mary, his wife of 56 years, and his brother Donald Lammers. He is survived by his seven children and 12 grandchildren: Christopher and Debbie Lammers and their children, Laura Crowley, Stephen Lammers and Kelly Lammers; Patrick and Barbara Lammers and their children Jared Thompson and Jessica Lammers; Virginia Lammers; Mary Rhoades and children Catherine, Matthew, and Christine Rhoades; Barbara and Richard Bosch, and their children Sarah and Derek Bosch, Owen Lammers and Nantiya Tangwisutijit; and Aileen and Chris Crowl and their children Johanna and James Crowl.

A vigil and rosary service will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m., Thursday, February 9 at Hull's Walnut Creek Chapel, 1139 Saranap Avenue, Walnut Creek. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, February 10 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary's Church of the Immaculate Conception, 2039 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Walnut Creek. A celebration of his life will take place following the mass at his home, 1309 Laverock Lane in Alamo. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice East Bay, 3470 Buskirk Avenue, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523