Thomas Thatcher

1926 - 2024

Thomas Thatcher
08/13/1926 - 08/28/2024
Our dad, Thomas Coleman Thatcher, passed away peacefully after a short illness at his long-time Orinda, California home on August 28, 2024, days after his 98th birthday, with family by his side. A proud native son of Oakland, Tom was born August 13, 1926 at the city's historic Fabiola Hospital to Guy Willard and Mary Ellen (Sullivan) Thatcher. He shared stories of growing up in the '30s in the city's idyllic Rockridge district alongside his parents, older sister, Mary Anne ("Colleen"), and their Kerry Blue Terrier, Pat. The hills there provided the perfect backdrop for boxcar races, rubberband gun wars, and other childhood pursuits with kids in the neighborhood, some of whom remained his lifelong friends. The memories of those special years were so strong in Dad that he'd enjoy driving past his childhood home until the end of his life, giving a small salute as he did.
Tom attended Piedmont Avenue Elementary School (Oakland), Our Lady of Lourdes (Oakland) and St. Augustine's (Berkeley) grammar schools, and St. Mary's College High School (Berkeley) which he supported for years as a proud Panther alum. His early jobs included being a top-producing paperboy for the Oakland Tribune and working maintenance at Oakland's beautiful Lake Merritt Municipal Boathouse. His time as a Boy Scout would be good preparation for what came next: in 1944, at age 17, Dad joined the war effort, enlisting in the U.S. Navy and was quickly sent through bootcamp, aircrewman school, and squadron training in Corpus Christi, Jacksonville, Memphis and Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, before being deployed to China where he served as a radioman on a Martin PBM Mariner in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tsingtao. For years after, he would occasionally be heard gently tapping out bits of the Morse code he'd learned, and sharing stories of the interesting and then-exotic places he'd experienced. He returned home in 1946 on the U.S.S. General Butner and to Camp Shoemaker in Dublin before working at the Oakland Army Base unloading supplies from the war. That fall, he enrolled at the University of San Francisco on the GI Bill, eventually earning a bachelor's degree in Business and becoming a lifelong advocate of the value of Jesuit education. He had his most memorable summer break from college in 1948 working a job at employee housing at Camp Curry in Yosemite Valley.
One summer evening in 1949, Dad used his good looks and quick-thinking skills to stop a beautiful San Francisco girl, Lorraine Windahl, our mom, as she was leaving a dance at Oakland's much-loved Ali Baba Ballroom. They married in September of the following year at Star of the Sea Church in San Francisco, honeymooned in Oregon, and went on to have a 54-year marriage, raising five children - Susan, Steven, Karen, Nancy and David.
Dad's career began in late 1950 as a yard clerk with Pacific Coast Aggregates (PCA), soon becoming superintendent of their Berkeley gravel operation on Gilman St. and later moving to sales for the company in the East Bay. He'd then oversee operations at its Centerville and Monterey sand plants through the company's acquisition by Lone Star Cement. Our parents bought their first house in El Sobrante in 1952, starting their family of four children before moving to Orinda in 1963 where they welcomed their fifth a few years later. Dad left PCA in 1969 to become vice president of construction and development at The Bubble Machine, a fast-growing car wash chain that combined a free wash with every gas fill-up, a novel concept for its time, and grew to 62 locations in seven years, won construction design awards, and caught the interest of Chevron which became an investor. In the early 1980s he obtained his real estate broker and general contractor licenses, then joined real estate firm Hamilton, Cohn & Gerow in Oakland to practice commercial and industrial sales and leasing throughout the East Bay, later becoming partner of Hamilton, Cohn, Thatcher & Associates, then Hamilton & Thatcher, where he remained until retirement at age 92. A practical, no-fuss kind of guy, Tom always said that working with commercial properties suited him well as they weren't complicated by the emotions of residential real estate.
Tom enjoyed memorable international travels with Lorraine, and then with friends after her untimely passing, including to Africa, China, Europe and the Holy Land. He was a generous donor to charities he believed in and thrived on being a part of social and service organizations throughout his life. He served as a member of the Oakland Chamber Jaycees; Trade Club of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, where he was Head Trader in 1967-68 and later served on its board of directors; Rotary Club of Oakland #3, joining in 1983; and since 1970, Lake Merritt Breakfast Club, during which time he was involved with the organization's fundraising effort to restore the Lake's iconic Necklace of Lights (he earned Life Member status from the club weeks before his passing to honor his 40+ years as an active member). He also served on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Alameda and Sonoma counties. In 1989 he became a volunteer founding member of the West Oakland Commerce Association (WOCA), established to serve the district's businesses and residents, which he remained with for 28 years, advising on real estate matters and serving on its board of directors until 2017. In later years, he enjoyed the camaraderie of fellow grandpas as a member of Grandfathers Club #2, serving a term as president.
Our dad was a man of his word, a loyal friend and a devout Catholic as a seven-decade parishioner of Church of Santa Maria in Orinda. He was proud to have been able to serve his country which gave him a strong sense of duty and patriotism throughout his life and inspired his interest in the National World War II Museum in New Orleans for which he became a Charter Member. With his youngest son, he was active in Indian Guides, Boy Scouts, and coaching teams in the Orinda youth sports league. He enjoyed walking and hiking (inherited from his father who climbed Oregon's Mt. Hood 44 times), from accompanying his son on several 50-Mile Hikes with the Scouts to establishing a lifelong routine of early morning weekday treks around the Lafayette Reservoir and, in later years, his daily 2-mile walk through his Orinda neighborhood which he did without use of a walking aid until last year.
Whether at home or away, Dad loved large extended family gatherings, including trips he hosted on a small boat cruise through Alaska, and at a rustic oceanfront compound on the coast of Maine. For years, he and Lorraine loaded up their kids for summer vacations to the Russian River where they enjoyed the resort area's beaches while staying at Eagle Nest, their cozy 1920s-era family cabin nestled in a redwood grove in Rio Nido. Taking in the scenery from his backyard, reading books about American history, watching classic Westerns, and his evening cocktail (vodka straight, on the rocks) were among the other things Tom enjoyed. We will miss sitting with him in the wintertime around his roaring fireplace ("the best in the county!", he'd declare) while praising his incomparable fire-building skills. Dad also inherited some of his dad's quirky Irish sense of humor, great with hamming it up when appropriate though he was not normally one to seek attention for himself. As a native Oaklander, he supported the Athletics for many years, from taking his baseball-loving mother to a game of the 1972 World Series at the Coliseum (which his company, PCA, poured the structural concrete for a few years prior), to years later enjoying annual season tickets with a group of friends. He was also a supporter of Dons basketball, having attended USF shortly before their rise to national dominance beginning in the mid-'50s. In his last decade, his vision became impaired by macular degeneration which he took in stride and didn't stop him from tackling long articles in the newspaper with the help of his reading magnifier.
We marveled at his ability to bounce back from trips and falls and other health scares in his final decade that would have otherwise seemed to have taken him. He always felt fortunate for all that he had accomplished and received in his long life, and we were fortunate to have had him with us for as long as we did.
Tom is preceded in death by his wife, Lorraine; his sister, Colleen (Sr. Mary Anne, SNJM, Ph.D.); son-in-law, Gary; and many long-time friends, some dating back to childhood. He is survived by his five children and their partners - Susan (David), Steven (Wandalea), Karen (Derek), Nancy (Gary) and Dave; five grandchildren (Sionann, Nathan, Tyler, Kathryn and Bridget); and five great-grandchildren (Goldie, Layla, Ozzy, Mica and Liliana). He is also survived by his godson, Jeffrey Walters.
A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at Church of Santa Maria, 40 Santa Maria Way, Orinda, CA. Reception immediately following in the Church Hall. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Tom's name to St. Mary's College High School, 1294 Albina Ave., Berkeley, CA 94706.