Thomas Bruce “Hippie Tom” Wilson, 53, died June 3, 2008, at Halfway.
His memorial service will be at 6 p.m. PDT at Old Carters Landing (Oregon side) on the Snake River.
Tom was born on Jan. 17, 1955, at San Diego to Darrell and Shirley Brown Wilson. He attended kindergarten through high school at Alpine and Lakeside, Calif.
After high school he went to work as a heavy equipment operator and worked construction. He was an excellent mechanic; if something broke, he could fix it.
While he was employed as a roofer he hurt his back and was no longer able to work. He purchased his memorable motor home, which had its own signature painting on the outside panels and traveled to California, Arizona and Oregon. Tom spent 20 years on the Shashone Reservation at Yuma, Ariz.
Tom could make an exciting day out of a boring day, his family said. He loved to fish and he especially enjoyed sharing his fishing talents and stories with anyone wanting to learn or know more.
Tom was easy to get along with and made friends with everyone he met. He was very special to his younger brother, Don, who said Tom was “one of the greatest guys you could ever meet in the world.”
Tom was well-known on the Snake River and folks would come in from all over the country and look for his motor home. Tom was deemed the unofficial camp host.
“He will be missed much more than words will ever tell,” his family members said.
He was preceded in death by a half-sister, Janet Cline Baker.
Survivors include his two daughters, Brandie McAbee and husband Justus “Jug” of Des Moines, Iowa, and Cheyene Wilson of Palmdale, Calif.; one granddaughter, Leslie Marie Pierce of Des Moines, Iowa; his father, Darrell Wilson, of El Cajon, Calif.; his mother, Shirley Wilson of Yuma Ariz.; brothers, Randall Cline and Don Wilson of Humbolt, Ariz., and Ron Wilson of Ramona Calif.; a sister, Connie Crawford, and her husband, Mike, of Grimes, Iowa; nieces, Tamika and Dusty Wilson of Humbolt, Ariz.; and many other nieces, nephews and cousins.
Those who would like to help the family defray the funeral expenses may do so through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 11, 2008
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
