Thomas Andrew Barker

Thomas Andrew Barker, 67, born on August 31, 1948, in Buffalo, New York to Mary B. and Robert "Bob" H. Barker, passed away September 8, 2015 in Los Alamitos, California from complications related to cancer. He resided in Cypress, California at the time of his passing. He was a loving husband to Pam, father of two sons, Rob and Todd, brother to Bob, uncle to Krissie Bensen, Kathie Steris, and Gino Battistoni, brother-in-law to Bettie Barker, Tony Pardee, Shelley Battistoni (Pardee), and Dave Battistoni, and proud dog owner of Bauer, his 10 year old Rat Terrier. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Cypress, California.

Tom was raised in Buffalo, New York. He attended Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Kenmore, New Year until the age of 6 (1954) where he, his parents, and brother Bob moved out west in search of a new beginning and better job market for his father Bob. One of the main reasons the Barker family chose the Los Angeles area as their destination was credited to the accordion playing / teaching Yale family. Tom and his brother Bob played the accordion. This likely led to his extreme appreciation for music. Later on in Tom's life he would also learn the basics of the guitar - most likely due to the influence of his favorite guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

Tom attended 87th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles. After completing elementary school he briefly attended Horace Mann Junior High and a second junior high (name unknown) in Westchester (Los Angeles). It was then that the Barker family moved to Los Alamitos, California where Tom attended and later graduated from Western High School (June 1966). It was here that he made several friends lifelong friends Bob Sherwood and Bill Lumm. He would go on to Cypress College to complete his general education (1966-69?) and finally to Long Beach State University (now, California State University, Long Beach). In the middle of his college education he enlisted (June 1970) into the Army National Guard alongside high school friend Craig Christiansen. He was sent to Fort Polk, Louisiana to complete basic training. Around December 1970 he was medically discharged. He would return to Long Beach State University to complete a Bachelor's of Science in Civil Engineering in June 1975.

In February 1970, prior to the Army, he met Pamela Jean Pardee at an 18 and over dance club near the Pacific Coast Highway Long Beach traffic circle "Cinnamon Cinder". Tom loved to throw parties and would ask Pam to attend a couples get-together / party at his parent's place in Los Alamitos. This was their first "date". In January 1976 Tom and Pam were married. They welcomed their first child, Robert "Robby, Rob" T. Barker, on October 30, 1982 and on July 16, 1985 they welcomed their second child, Todd C. Barker.

Tom and Pam loved to travel and over the course of Tom's life he would take his family on numerous family vacations: Big Bear Lake / Fawnskin (almost every summer from elementary school through high school); San Diego, CA; Buffalo, NY; Cooperstown, NY; Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada; Hawaii; Florida (Everglades, Disneyworld, Kennedy Space Center); Washington, D.C.; various western U.S. destinations (San Francisco, Redwood Forest, Crater Lake, OR; Lake Tahoe); Las Vegas, NV; Grand Canyon, AZ; Palm Springs, CA. Tom enjoyed history. Many of his family vacations consisted of stops at various historical landmarks.

Tom loved baseball and loved to run. He grew up following the Brooklyn Dodgers and continued to follow the Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles. Years after idolizing Dodger pitcher Sandy Koufax he once crossed paths with Sandy during a short elevator ride at Dodger stadium. For years he spoke of this crossing with his Dodger idol with enthusiasm like a 6 year old on Christmas morning. Every summer he would make a point to listen to or watch as many Dodger games as he could. He told stories of hiding am AM radio headset under his school clothes to listen to Vin Scully announce big games. Tom ran multiple 10k runs, half marathons, and completed one marathon (Long Beach). During his running days, Tom passed along his enthusiasm for running to friends Bill Lumm, Bob Sherwood, and others - including his oldest son Rob. Tom's last 10k was four months after recovering from a cardiac event / stent placement (March 15, 2014) on July 26, 2014. His internal drive encouraged his son Rob to train for and complete his first 5k (see photo on other page).

He was employed as a Civil Engineer for 39 years, working for several construction management companies: Parsons Dillingham Construction (Los Angeles Metro Rail project), URS (now AECOM) (Disney California Adventure park, Long Beach Port, various schools, etc.). Tom truly enjoyed being an engineer and during this time met several other lifelong friends: Steve LeDuff, Ron Anderson, and Kris Kim. Tom's enjoyment of engineering went beyond his job and transferred into his love of homeownership. He engineered and built, along side brother and father, a wooden patio cover, storage shed, reinforced his garage to accommodate the added weight from storage, built several pieces of patio furniture, etc. Tom always wanted to maximize the use of his space and would take every opportunity to do so!

Tom was a very loving person that put family first! He made a point of teaching his sons how to handle various household repairs with hopes of them someday using those skills on their own homes. Other words to describe Tom were determined, persistent, caring, focused, hard-working, loyal, role-model, and meticulous. The things that Tom most likely misses are: time with family and friends, relaxing on the couch with is "pup" Bauer, Spaghetti, his true first-born - his 1965 Corvette, working on projects, taking care of his home, The History and Discovery Channel, Dodger baseball, and running. Tom will greatly missed.