Thomas J. Park--March 11, 1943-October 28, 2019

I have been remiss on not posting this sooner.  Tom was my cousin, the oldest of my Aunt Dot's (and Uncle Ed's) children.  He was six years older than me.  We spent most of our vacations growing up visiting Sacramento and Dot's family.  As I grew older, we spent a lot of time together with Tom and his family.  Tom was even a groomsman in my first wedding.  I always loved him.

Unfortunately, we were not able to go to the funeral as Dave and I had already booked and paid for a cruise at the time of his death.  However, I was there in spirit.

I am going to post his brother Ted's eulogy as it is absolutely the best and sums up our dear Tom.

Introduction

Blessed is that servant, who his Lord finds awake

when he comes and knocks at the gate.

This was the Communion Antiphon at this past Monday morning mass. It made me think of my brother Tom who was ready to be embraced by God and family.

When I heard that Tom being taken to Emergency Sunday night, October 27, I immediately feared the worse.  Not for Tom, but for those of us he would leave behind. All through the restless night, thoughts and memories of him swam around in my head.  I could think of little else. So I felt compelled to release them from my mind by putting them down on paper.

These thoughts and memories are personal. They are my reflections....hence, they have a personal focus on me and my family.

Thomas J. Park

March 11, 1943 - October 28, 2019

And then there were five....

Thomas J. Park was born March 11, 1943 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Edwin and Dorothy Park. Tulsa was Dad's second office in the FBI (Indianapolis was the first).  My grandfather pleaded with my Mom to have her baby in Arizona..he didn't want his grandchild to be called an Okie.

Tom grew up like the rest of us in Sacramento. He attended St. Philomene's Elementary, El Camino H.S. and earned a scholarship to the University of San Francisco.  Tom was a loyal Don.  He majored in Economics and earned a Masters in Contract Bridge..or masters' points I should say.Tom was the smartest person I've every known.  He was well read and articulate in many subjects; including his Faith.  The Jesuits did a fine job disciplining his mind.

Tom was the first-born,  followed by 3 girls: Kathy, Janine and Janice.  Mom had 4 kids in 3 years. That was it for 8 years until God decided to bring balance to the Universe and to the Park Household by delivering twin boys in 1954.  Tom was 11 years older than Ed and me.  He went away to college in 1960 when we were only 6. He did come back one summer and worked for Aerojet at the beginning of the Space Race. After college, Tom worked for Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco where he met his future wife, Elsa Reyes.

 Their first date was a production of Harvey in San Francisco.  He purchased tickets for Janine, Janice and their spouses as a birthday present. They provided a convenient escort on their first date. Tom and Elsa married in January 1974.  Their daughter Dorothy arrived 11 months later in December.  (More about that later).  They settled in San Jose and Tom worked as a Comptroller for various printing companies in the Bay Area..several of them alongside is Brother-in-Law and college roommate, Mike O'Connell.

Tom and Elsa were very active in St. Victor's Parish.  Tom and Elsa were RCIA Sponsors and Facilitators in World Wide Marriage Encounter. Tom was a Lector for many years; conducting the readings regularly at Monday morning mass.  He also served on the Saint Victor Evangelist Committee.

Tom loved sports.  If not for sports, Tom would have been more like an uncle to Ed and me rather that a brother due to our age difference. In 1969, Tom purchased season tickets to the San Francisco 49ers with two friends.  By 1971, one of the friends dropped out and Tom offered the ticket to Ed and me.  In 1972, his other friend dropped out so Ed and I got our own individual tickets. On Sundays during football season, we would board the 8 AM Greyhound Express to San Francisco.  Tom would pick us up in his Chevy Vega and we'd go to the game at Candlestick.  Afterwards, he would drop us off at the Greyhound station and we would be home by 7 PM. We did this for many years until I got a car.  These were very important years as it brought the 3 brothers closer together.

On December 15, 1974 Ed and I drove down to San Francisco to see the 49ers play the New Orleans Saints.  We met Tom at 143 University (Elsa's family's house) which was close to Candlestick. We drove to to the game and parked in the stadium parking lot.  Just prior to game time, Tom called Elsa to see how she was doing...she being 9 months pregnant.  He raced back to our seats and said we have to go...Elsa was in labor.  Now, exiting Candlestick just before game time was no easy task. All of the escalators were programed for incoming not exiting fans. We made it to the car and again, all of the gates were set up for incoming cars not outgoing.  We raced around the parking lot, dodging fans as we went, and found the one exit that was open.  We drove to 143 University and Tom picked up Elsa.  We followed them to the hospital in my car and settled into the waiting room.  (Fortunately for me, I had my college books and was able to study for a Latin exam the next day, as it was finals week. As an aside, I learned a lot in Latin that has allowed me to navigate these tense political times. I can translate "quid pro quo", "non sequiter", "habeas corpus" and "Evernay Umptre".  But I digress.)   We waited for 3 hours in the hospital and by 4 PM we had to leave.  We just missed Dorothy's birth for as Tom returned to the hospital after walking us to our car, the Nurse told Tom to "suit up".  We have frequently reminded Dorothy of this story as she caused us to miss a 49er victory which were rare in those days.  The 49ers beat the Saints 35-21 that day.  But our greatest thrill was the birth of our god-daughter, Dorothy Katherine Park.

Tom and I maintained our 49er season tickets for 34 years!  I remember sending him a note when he retired his season ticket.  It was patterned after the old MASTERCARD commercial:

     years attending games: 34

    number of games seen:  360

    accumulated round trip miles to Candlestick:  64,800

    memories and moments with my brother...PRICELESS.

Tom and I shared many adventures.  In 1994 the First Round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was in Sacramento. As a birthday present for Tom, I bought two tickets for the weekend.  We just loved the games and the atmosphere.  The next year, he bought tickets for the second round, which was held at the Oakland Coliseum.  One of the teams was the UCLA Bruins who went on to be crowned NCAA Champions that year.  In successive years we traveled to different venues..wherever there was family to see between the games.  We went to Phoenix and Tucson many times to see basketball and our Arizona Aunts, Uncle and Cousins.  We loved every minute of it.  We were joined on several occasions by our sister Janine, my nephew Jeremy and my daughter Kelly. We even went as far as Birmingham, Alabama and traveled up to Huntsville between games to stay with our sister Kathy.  These are priceless memories for me...ones that I will cherish forever.

Now we are five.

My faith assures me that Tom is in heaven in the embrace of God and Family.  Tell Mom she now has her FOURSOME:  Bid 3 NO TRUMP Tom!  (Sorry I couldn't Resist.)

May God Bless you and Keep you

May God make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.

May God lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.