Thomas Carl Weston

Tom was born on Valentine’s Day, 1936, in St. Paul, MN, to Dorothy E. (Bolin) Weston, a single mom. He grew up in Kasota, MN, living with his mother and his immigrant grandparents, Carrie Olsen Bolin (Norway) and Malcom Bolin (Sweden). Kasota had a population of around 700 people, about half were Swedes and Norwegians related to each other. Most of the men worked in the Babcock and Wilcox limestone quarries and stone plant, his grandfather included.

Growing up in a small town with lots of cousins and relatives was a good environment. As kids, they played pick up softball games (bounce out), hide and seek, rock fights in old stone quarries, flying kites, riding bikes, target shooting with BB guns and .22s, sledding in winter and just hanging out - good clean fun. There was a creek that ran through town, and Tom would fish for bullheads in it. In the winter he would hunt rabbits and squirrels. Kasota was not very big; you could walk ten minutes in any direction and be out of town and away from people.

Tom always had summer jobs. He worked several summers at the Shoreland Country Club on Lake Emily - running lawn mowers and doing general maintenance work. He made 55 cents an hour, big money for kids at that time. On lunch hours he would grab a bottle of pop and a sandwich, then compete with his fellow workers at chipping and putting for nickels and dimes. The pro there gave him golf lessons, and that led to him being on the high school golf team. Golf became a lifetime hobby for him.

Tom graduated from St. Peter High School in 1952, played trumpet in the band, sang in the choir, lettered in football and golf. He started college, but enlisted in the Air Force in 1955. Trained as an electronics technician, he spent three years in Germany maintaining atomic bombs. Ever since then, he said that was why he “glowed in the dark”.

Tom returned to Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, graduating in 1960 with a degree in Math and Physics. At Gustavus he met the love of his life, Carol

Elaine Villesvik. They married in 1961 after Carol graduated and while he was in graduate school. In 1962 he got an MS in Math from the University of North Dakota. He was hired by Boeing in 1962. They moved to Seattle during the World’s Fair. Son Steve was born in 1963; Dave in 1965 in Seattle. Patty was born in 1968 in Bellevue, where he and Carol had a house built.

As the kids grew, he and Carol supported innumerable kids’ activities, such as music lessons, and many special programs. He went on canoe trips and hikes with the Boy Scouts, taught them all to fish and enjoy hiking and camping. Tom enjoyed fishing and hunting, golf, camping and boating with the family. Over the years they had a variety of campers and boats. He especially liked to fish for steelhead, and over the years caught a dozen steelhead over 20 lbs. He was a past President of the Steelhead Trout Club of Washington. They had season tickets to the Seattle Opera and Symphony. They subscribed to their favorite seats in Benaroya Hall for the Seattle Symphony from the time it was built.

Tom hired into the Boeing Company as an engineer, and worked there for 32 years. His first and most favorite assignment was the Lunar Orbiter Space Program. Others included hydrofoils, missiles, space, and communication systems. He retired as a Systems Design Manager in classified programs.

After retirement, they built a house on a hill in Lacey, WA, which Carol designed. She uniquely designed the house to maximize the view and livability. They joined Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Olympia, WA. He and Carol loved to sing in Church choirs together, and especially liked the traditional Lutheran Liturgy and music. Tom led the development of the Gloria Dei Columbarium. He said his proudest achievement at Gloria Dei was Chairman of the Call Committee that hired Dan Colgan, its world class organist and choir director. They loved to travel and visit family. On one special trip they visited Carol’s relatives in Sweden and Norway.

Married to Carol for more than 63 years, they raised three wonderful children. Steve (Evelyn), are both ELCA Lutheran pastors, with grandsons Sam, Ben, and Jon. Son Dave (Yai) have two Thai restaurants in the Washington DC area, and four Thai granddaughters - Lisa, Lita, Charlene, and Charlie. Daughter Patty

(Aaron) both teach at Mercer Island High School – Patty, physics and chemistry, and Aaron, AP Physics