Thomas Joseph Gates

Thomas J. Gates was born July 29, 1950 to Violet and Delton Gates in San Diego, CA. As a young boy, his mother called him Tommy Joe; later his friends just called him Tom.

When Tom was in elementary school, his father, a naval man, was stationed in Japan for 2 years. During that time his sister, Evelyn, joined their family. After returning to Southern California, they lived in Lakewood until Tom left for college - first at Pepperdine then graduating from Seattle University with his B.A. in Humanities. Although Tom studied to be a teacher, he chose Counseling for his career, later earning his Masters in Applied Behavioral Science at Whitworth University. He worked in a variety of counseling roles with teens and families, then joined Kaiser Permanente as a Chemical Dependency Specialist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor, until retirement.

Throughout his life, Tom enjoyed many outdoor activities. He loved fishing, hunting, and downhill and cross country skiing. He scuba dived in the Puget Sound, drove his van north to see Alaska, and climbed Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood. In the summers, he grew tomatoes and BBQ’d a great steak. He loved his dog Asa and took him on canoeing adventures.

Tom and Karla met while working in a local group home, and after 7 years of working out their relationship, they married in 1984. They added 2 children to their family - Emily in 1996 and Jeffrey in 1999.

Tom was an avid reader, researched Native American history and attended pow wows, went to every museum he could and practiced beadwork and leathercraft. He was active with the local Boy Scouts and Toast Masters. In later years, he enjoyed dressing up as a pirate for Renaissance Fairs and a Scottish mountain man for the Highlander Festival. But his favorite alter ego was Santa Claus. Tom found great joy contributing to the wonder and magic of Christmas for children of all ages.

Tom fought multiple health issues for many years. He died peacefully at home with his daughter and wife.