On Aug. 18, 2008, Tom was called home to the Lord following an accident south of Pateros. He was born on Oct. 31, 1945 to Amos and Mary (Beale) Teas at St. Martin’s Hospital in Tonasket.

He attended the Molson School until it closed and then graduated from Oroville High School in 1964. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Viet Nam Conflict and attained the rank of Sergeant as a radio technician in Thailand. He worked in Wenatchee at Washington Belt and Bearing and while there he met his future wife, Kathleen Griffin. They were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Havillah on Sept. 18, 1971. They lived in Wenatchee until April 1, 1973 when they moved to the family orchard in Oroville.

Tom raised apples and started his own cabinet and remodeling business. Two of his biggest successes were the house Tom built for Web and Jo Hallauer and the huge gazebo that he designed and helped build at Camp Ortoha. He worked for the Bureau of Reclamation while they were building the new Oroville-Tonasket Irrigation District lines. He began driving a school bus for the Oroville School District and doing bookkeeping and taxes for orchardists and that was his current occupation.

He was a member of and the treasurer for Faith Lutheran Church and also Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Many knew him from all the fundraisers he was involved in or from his years as “Mr. May Day”!

He is survived by his wife, Cathy at home and two daughters, Sara Teas of Vancouver, Wash. and Vicky Teas of Seattle. He is also survived by three brothers: Frank (Pat) of Chewelah; Herb (Noreen) of East Wenatchee and Roy (Rita) of Oroville; one sister, Esther Selking of Fox Lake, IL; two sisters-in-law, Sonja Teas of Sitka, Alaska and Myrtle Abbott of Tacoma; a special cousin, Bruce Graham of Cashmere and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, John and Robert; a nephew Robert Teas and a great nephew Nathaniel Selking.

He will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him. Memorial services will be held at Faith Lutheran Church on Sunday, August 24th at 1:30 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Camp Ortoha, P.O. Box 338, Oroville, WA. 98844.