Thomas Quenton Tannock (1929 - 2008)

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A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 14, 2008, in the lodge of Homestead Manufactured Home Park in Forest Grove for Thomas Quenton "Jerry" Tannock, who died June 8 of congestive heart failure at age 79.

Thomas Quenton Tannock was born April 22, 1929, in Hillsboro. He graduated from Hillsboro High School and served in the Air Force based at Ramstein Air Base, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany from 1950-1953. He was a flight navigator and engineer for the AF flying to Africa and European countries bringing cargo supplies while they were being rebuilt post-WWII. After his service, he attended Oregon College in Corvallis (now Oregon State University) studying Forestry Engineering. After marrying Shirley Duyck on Feb. 19, 1955 they settled on the family Christmas tree farm on Dixie Mtn. next to his parents, Carl and Olga Tannock. They began raising their 4 children (Carl, Valerie, Mark and Allen) on the mountain, eventually moving into the Brookwood neighborhood of Hillsboro for a brief time. In 1964, Tom began working for the U.S. Forest Service at Mt. Rainier, WA moving the family to Elbe. He worked long and hard hours watching for fires in the remote fire lookout stations. On weekends, Shirley and their children would make the long hike up to the lookouts to bring him supplies. He also managed the Big Creek Campground Ranger Station and for years after leaving the area would come back with the family to camp there. The kids got a penny for every cigarette butt that was picked up in the campground whenever they went camping or while he was based there! The evening campfires were always the best while family and friends sat around reminiscing about the old days. After leaving the U.S. Forest Service he moved the family to Seaside, OR where he was a forest engineer for Crown Zellerbach. They lived in Seaside until 1971 when he was transferred to Sekiu, WA. He lived there until 1983 before moving back to Dixie Mtn. They built a new home on the old family homestead completing that in 1985. Tom and Shirley lived and worked the family Christmas tree farm named "Neil Creek Tree Farm" along with their youngest son, Mark (who passed away at home in 1998) until 1999 when the farm was sold to their oldest son, Allen, who sold it the following year. They moved to Forest Grove to Homestead Park where Tom suffered congestive heart failure. He had bypass surgery in May 2007 and survived until June 8, 2008 passing away at home.
Survivors include his wife, Shirley; daughter, Valerie; sons, Carl and his wife Sandie, and Allen; sister, Elaine Logan; five grandchildren, Dorian and Damien Libal (children of Valerie), Josh, Shannon and Daron Ison (step-children of Carl); and two great-grandchildren, Isaac Libal (son of Dorian and Niki Libal); Dane Ison (son of Shannon Ison).
Tom was an active member of the Portland Winterhawks Booster Club. He was also a key supporter of the Tillamook Forestry Center and was one of the original people along with his father, Carl, who volunteered to replant the area after the forest burned in the 40's. Their names are memorialized on the wall at the Forestry Center along with Tom's picture in the building.

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