Tommy Lee Tomlin
Tommy Lee Tomlin
Tom entered this world on January
27, 1943 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He was born to Elbert Henry Tomlin and
Mary Ellen McAbee, the tenth of eleven children. He entered Heaven on October
18, 2012 from Boise, ID after suffering from Pulmonary Fibrosis for three
years. He lived in Kannapolis and China Grove, North Carolina for the first
seventeen years of his life, until he joined the Navy in 1960. Friendships from
his childhood continued throughout his life. During his twenty years of service,
he was stationed on several ships including the USS Brush DD 745, USS
Everglades AD 20, USS Annapolis AGMR 1, USS Seattle AOE 5, USS Canopus AS 34,
USS Furer FFG 6, USS Vesole DD 878, USS Semmes DDG 18. He was also stationed on
shore duty at FMAG, Mayport, FL, and at SIMA at Charleston SC. Home ports
included Norfolk, VA, Bremerton, WA, Long Beach, CA, Charleston, SC, San Diego
CA, and Holy Loch, Scotland. He visited many countries on Med and West Pac
cruises and spent time off the coast of Viet Nam.
Tom married Marilyn Wheeler of La
Puente, CA on April 30, 1961. They had three children, Teresa Lee, Daniel
Leslie, and Tommy Lee, Jr. They later divorced and he married Roberta “Bobbi”
Knight Barnes in Charleston, SC on July 29, 1977. He and Bobbi took their
blended family of five children (ages 15 to 9) to Disneyworld on their
honeymoon. What a lot of memories they created in that first family event
Tom retired from the Navy in 1980
and followed Bobbi home to Boise. He worked as Chief Heating Engineer for the
Boise School District until he retired in 2006. This job took him to all the
Boise Schools as he kept them warm or cool as necessary. He was able to use his
abilities to bring more efficiency to the system, and made many lasting friends
in those years.
After retirement he began
volunteering at Boise First Community Center (Church of the Nazarene) and in
2008 took the position of facilities coordinator. He was responsible for all
kinds of things in this job—fixing doors, changing parking lot lights, making
sure all the rooms were set to the right temperature, setting up chairs for
events, repairing all kinds of things, and generally making sure that the
church was a welcoming and comfortable facility.
Tom was an inventor as well,
inventing the Helping Hands Bag Liner, which he sold at home shows and the fair
for several years. He was always looking for a better way to do everything.
He loved baseball (especially the
Yankees), NASCAR (Jimmy Johnson and Dale Jr. were his favorites), football (Go
Broncos!) and motorcycling. He and Bobbi logged a lot of miles on several bikes
during their marriage. In 2007, they converted their Gold Wing to a trike and
took off on a great adventure to see the four corners of the United States.
Seventy two days, 27 states, 7 Canadian Provinces, Baja California and 17,000
miles later they came home. Tom was proud that he had put his foot in every one
of the Great Lakes during that trip! He
was a charter member of R Wheels R His, a local chapter of Christian Motorcyclist
Association, and participated in many events, including the Veteran’s Home Ride
and doing traffic control at the Harrison Classic the weekend before he died.
One of his happiest duties in CMA was organizing and cooking for the annual
Motorcycle Awareness Day Barbeque in the park. If you have ever
gone, you will remember the juicy
hamburgers and fried onions!
He was member of the Boise First
Church of the Nazarene and had dedicated his life to the Lord and walked the
walk of a Godly man. He was always ready to share his faith and had no
hesitation in telling people that he was ready to go when his time was up here
on earth. He had a very positive attitude and always said he was “just like
brand new!”
Tom is survived by his wife,
Bobbi of Boise; daughter, Teresa Zoubi of Nampa; sons, Daniel (Melissa) Tomlin
of Houston, TX; Tommy Tomlin Jr. of Garland TX; and stepson, Steven (Gina)
Barnes of Nampa: sister, Joyce Tysinger of North Carolina; brothers-in law,
Merlyn (Janet) Knight and Chip (Lesley) Knight of Boise. He is also survived by
12 grandchildren with another on the way, 8 great grandchildren, and nieces,
nephews, cousins, and many honorary family members and friends. He was preceded
in death by his parents, parents-in law, nine siblings, and his step-daughter,
Shannon Barnes.
A memorial service will be held at
2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at the Boise First Community Center
Church of the Nazarene, 3852 N. Eagle Road under the direction of the
Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to
Boise First Community Center, Christian Motorcyclist Association (P0 Box 9,
Hatfield, AR 71945) or a charity of your choice.
Ride on, Tom! Now you
are
brand new!
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Tommy Lee Tomlin, please visit our flower store.
Guestbook
Visits: 1
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
