THOMAS LORNE DAVIS

1991 – 2023

THOMAS LORNE DAVIS, “Tom; Tommy”, 31, of West Linn, Oregon, passed away on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, in Oregon City, Oregon.

Thomas was born at St. Vincent Hospital and Medical Center at 4:12 a.m. on September 19, 1991.  He was 7 pounds and 12 ounces.  His attending physician was Dr. Anton K. Broms.  He is the fifth child and third son of Maureen Elizabeth (Mulberry) and Charles Maberry Davis.

TOM’S STORY:  Thomas was born with curly waves in his baby hair with big blue eyes.   As a newborn baby, he would lie in his bassinet looking up with wonder at the full moon in the skylights above him.  Thomas was given his first name after his maternal great-grandfather Thomas James Moss, Jr., and his father’s two dear friends Tom Dechenne and Tom Mustoe. His middle name was in honour of his maternal grandfather Lorne Vernon Mulberry. Thomas inherited his very curly hair from his grandpa Lorne Mulberry and Uncle Bryan Mulberry and his mom!

Thomas grew up in West Linn in a family of 8.  He had a sense of humour and knew how to make his family laugh.  His hair continued to get curlier and he often sported a blonde afro hairdo.   As a baby, he traveled to Mazatlán, Mexico with his parents and loved crawling on the hot sand!  He loved playing sports and was an especially fast runner on his soccer team.  Thomas was a skilled wakeboarder and snowboarder.   He enjoyed hiking, camping trips and communing with nature.  He loved an adventure!

Thomas was a member of West Linn Lutheran Church where he was baptized on December 29, 1991, and confirmed into membership on October 28, 2006 under Pastor Barry Rogge.   One of Tom’s favorite church memories was when the entire church confirmation class drove up to North Idaho and spent the night at our cabin with Angela and Brian Stoll.  There was swimming, water skiing, a bar-b-que dinner, s’mores on the beach and a pancake breakfast in the morning.

Thomas attended MACC Preschool, Cedaroak Primary School, Rosemont Ridge Middle School and West Linn High School.  He was involved in Cub Scout Pack 149 at Cedaroak and In Boy Scout Troop 149 at Rosemont Ridge.  He received the Arrow of Light award on April 1, 2003, under Cubmaster Jack Norby.  One of his favorite memories was the camping trip to Offut Lake Campground and visiting Wolfhaven International in Tenino, Washington in June 2000.  The boys in his den started a ‘Howl-in’ conversation from their tents with the wolves that night.  He achieved the rank of First Class Boy Scout on May 6th, 2006 with Troop 149.  Thomas attended Three Rivers Camporee in 2003; and participated in the 2004 Three Rivers District Klondike Derby under the dedication and leadership of Mr. Tom Lenihan.  Thomas enjoyed Camp Meriwether in 2004, Camp Baker and Camp Parsons.     He attended Clackamas Community College and received his GED.  He went on to take courses in backflow technology and horticulture at Clackamas Community College.

Thomas loved to draw and sketch artwork.  He enjoyed using oil pastels and acrylics to create his art.  He also journaled and wrote accounts of the things that he experienced in life.

MORE OF TOM’s LIFE STORY:

Thomas enjoyed spending time at the family cabin at Hayden Lake Idaho.  He used his strong legs to pump the pedals of the antique player piano with his siblings.  As a young boy, he took his pet frog “Froad” {frog + toad} to the lake for two years in a row, letting it swim out away in the lake, and then retrieving him.  How many frogs get to go on the family vacation?  Tom was a strong swimmer and wakeboarder and loved diving off of the dock … as well as ‘Castle Rock’.  In later years he enjoyed the paddle board.   He liked catching fish, fileting and cooking them for dinner.  He enjoyed seeing the family’s ‘lake friends’ every summer, especially Randy and Randa; Joanne and Jack; Jenny, Samantha and Joel and Randy B.  Thomas especially loved having his West Linn friends Al, Connor, Jessie, Alex and Beau join him for a few days at the cabin, pulling them behind the family’s Moomba water sports boat.  He enjoyed hitting tennis balls, playing night games like Capture the Flag, Red Rover, Kick the Can, Sardines and Grey Wolf; watching movies and sleeping on the deck beneath the bright stars of North Idaho.

Thomas loved spending time with people.  Being with friends and enjoying their company made him happy.  He found his jobs on his own, making his resume and presenting it to prospective employers.  He worked for Gilman Park Senior Center as a resident assistant and enjoyed taking the residents’ orders for lunch and visiting with them.  He lived in Government Camp, Oregon for a time and worked at Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in housekeeping, which gave him plenty of time for snowboarding.  He worked as a fry cook for McDonald’s in Willamette.  He worked for a temporary employment agency, even spending time at the Oregon Polo Club helping with the grounds.  He also spent time loading fish on the Oregon Coast.

Thomas loved animals.  Once while on a trip to Washington with his friend Al, he phoned home and asked his mother if he could bring home a couple of kittens from a farm, to add to the menagerie of animals that already lived there.  She didn’t give him the okay, but a week later a tiny grey and white kitten was found where Tom had hidden him in the furnace room downstairs.  Tom named him ‘Bonzai’, but he later became known as ‘Dee Dee Mowzer’, due to his skill in catching mice.   It is said that Dee Dee Mowzer has more personality in one claw than most people have in their whole body.  He is now 18 years old and enjoying his retirement in West Linn and Northern Idaho!

Thomas loved listening to music and was a skilled musician.  He started piano lessons in elementary school from Trudy Fowlks and loved classical music.  Three of his favorite classical pieces he perfected were Mozart’s Piano Sonata in A, KV 311 “Rondo alla Turca”;  Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C, K 545 “Sonata facile”; and Mozart’s Piano Sonata #14 “Moonlight” in C Sharp Minor.   Two of his favorite bands were ‘Ween’, and The Flaming Lips’.  Thomas played trumpet in middle school and the band teacher said he had the best embouchure in the class.  Perhaps having braces on his teeth helped him blow his horn.  Tom would blow his trumpet out the back door on New Year’s Eve to ring in the New Year!  Thomas loved playing his guitar for himself and others.  He even tried the harmonica and his mother recently bought him a green Tin Whistle from Ireland.

He enjoyed spending time in nature.  He loved hiking and camping in the Cascade Mountains, and using his Boy Scout skills to live on the land.  He enjoyed adventure and living on the edge.  He occasionally rode his bike down highway 26 from Government Camp to Sandy, Oregon to cash his pay cheque from Timberline Lodge, alongside the 55 mile per hour traffic!  He liked observing and photographing nature, such as a giant busy anthill; following a little frog swimming down a mountain stream; jumping across fallen logs in the forest.  He hiked high up to the Pearly Gates on Mt. Hood, videotaping himself with the views of the Cascade Mountain Range around him.  He hiked Mt. St. Helen’s with his sister Jen.

Thomas loved to cook!   He enjoyed experimenting with seasonings and herbs and infused olive oils.  He enjoyed preparing meals and serving them to his family and friends.   He loved adding hot sauce to give things a real bite!

RELATIVES:

Thomas was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Jean LaVonne (McSweeney) and James Riley Davis, Sr., both of Saint John, Washington; Ruth Marie (Moss) and Lorne Vernon Mulberry of Arvada, Colorado; his maternal uncle Bryan Lyle Mulberry (Irene) of Palm Desert, California: his Aunt Sadie Ella (Moss) and Uncle Henry (Ike) Joinson of Fernie, British Columbia, Canada.

Thomas is survived by his parents, Maureen E. (Mulberry) and Charles M. Davis of West Linn; his siblings Jennifer L. Davis (Rob Routledge) of Lake Oswego, Oregon; Charles H. Davis (Gena) of White Salmon, Washington; James M. Davis of West Linn; Sarah R. Bingo (Scott) of Kailua, Hawai’i; Laura E. Hanson (Gunny Sgt. Donovan) of Graham, North Carolina; nieces and nephews Cassidy Hanson; Xander Hanson; Logan Hanson; and Emi Bingo.  Thomas is also survived by his great Uncle Clark Charles Fletcher (Marlene) of Hope, British Columbia, Canada; Aunt Patricia Jean Goldberg (Moses) of Greensboro, North Carolina; Uncle James Riley Davis, Jr. (Marcia) of Dalton Gardens, Idaho; Uncle Lindsay Walter Davis of Kansas City, Missouri; Aunt Heather Laureen (Mulberry) Vasina (Kevin) of Arvada, Colorado; Aunt Wendy Ruth Carmichael (Larry) of Granby, Colorado; Aunt Cheryl Lorne Banister (David) of Grand Junction, Colorado.  Thomas’s beloved cat ‘Bonzai’, a.k.a. ‘Dee Dee Mowzer’ also survives him.

Thomas has numerous cousins: Deneen (Davis) Wolf of Idaho; Justin Davis of Idaho; Ruthie (Goldberg) Hilton of North Carolina; Joel Goldberg of Maryland; Victoria Vasina of Colorado; Vincent Vasina of North Carolina; Veronica Vasina of Minnesota; Evan Carmichael of Colorado; Ethan Carmichael of Colorado; John Banister of Georgia; Heather (Banister) Hatcher of Colorado; Barclay Fletcher, Jennifer Fletcher and Clinton Fletcher all of British Columbia; Craig Peters of British Columbia; Wayne Klippel of Manitoba; Kathy (Moss) McKenney and Kimmika McKenney of Quebec; Monica Buskas and Gunnar Karlsson of Huddinge, Sweden; Margaret Conway, Florence Temple, John Barnett and Billy Barnett of County Donegal, Ireland;  Others who survive Thomas and cared for him are his Godparents, Marianne and Don Kramer of Bend, Oregon; Celia Derhan of France; Ian Williams and Rachel Williams of Oregon City; Elizabeth, and friends and neighbors who have known and loved Thomas throughout his life.

Thomas will be missed by many through the years for his quick wit, brilliant mind and good heart.

SERVICE INFORMATION

There will be a celebration of life held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 19th, 2023 at West Linn Lutheran Church

Plans are being made for inurnment in the family plot in St. John, Washington.

The family suggests any memorials or donations honouring Thomas be made to ‘THE FATHER’S HEART’ Ministry at 603 12th Street, Oregon City, Oregon 97045; – https://tfhstreetministry.com/give/.   WEST LINN LUTHERAN CHURCH, https://wllc.org/ or Clackamas chapter of NAMI.

SPECIAL THANKS:

The family would like to thank the staff at The Father’s Heart, for the kindness and care that Thomas received from them; especially Rachel, Denise, Robin, Kelly, Stephanie, Rocio  ……  Thank you to Ian for never giving up on Thomas and all the friends and neighbors who have kept in contact with Thomas and been his friend.   Special thanks to Jack Loomis for helping make the world a better place for many, showing kindness and lending a genuine ear to listen.

“Carry out Random Acts of Kindness … With no Expectation of Reward”

Love One Another