Tom Dawes, 59, of Spokane,
Wash. died peacefully at his home on Nov. 26, 2005 after a battle
with cancer with his wife, Jeanne, and brother, Larry, at his
side.
A rosary service
will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15 at St. Aloysius
Church, 330 E. Boone, Spokane. A memorial service will be held at
1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 16 also at St. Aloysius Church followed by
a reception at the Knights of Columbus, 302 E. Boone.
Tom was born Nov.
9, 1946 in Mt. Vernon, Ill. to Fred E. and Ruth A. (Porter)
Dawes.Survivors include his wife, Jeanne
(Johnston) Dawes; his brother, Larry Dawes of Spokane; his
sister, Nancy (Doug) Jackson of Mendota, Ill; three nephews,
Jonathan Wasson, Wayne Edwards and Kevin Pitts; and three nieces,
Rachel and Jessica Wasson and Jesse Edwards.He was
preceded in death by his parents.
He was a 1964 graduate of MendotaHigh School where he was a
member of the golf team, debate team, Latin club, science club,
chess club, band and wrote for his school paper. He attended
Southern Illinois University where he continued his journalistic
experience as an editor for “KA”, publisher of the
student newspaper “The Egyptian” and was active in
campus politics. He graduated from SIU in 1971 with degrees in
philosophy and linguistics and remained at SIU for a year of
graduate study.
Tom was employed by
Chelsea House Publishers and David McKay Publishing Co. in New
York City, was Director of Research for the PsychologicalTestingCenter in Minneapolis and then attended Boston University School
of Law. He moved from Boston to Spokane in 1974 where he met his
wife in 1978. He sold real estate until 1998, and in the early
80s he expanded his real estate business to include accounting
services. He continued his accounting business until October of
this year.
Tom enjoyed golf,
sailing and music. He was a member of the Meadow Springs Country
Club and enjoyed playing the great courses of Scotland and many
of the top 100 courses in the United States. He loved the many
great golf courses the Northwest has to offer. He learned to sail
while working as a writer for Buckminster Fuller in Penobscot Bay,
Maine and he and Jeanne kept a sailboat on Coeur d’AleneLake
where they spent many wonderful weekends.
He loved classical
music and played percussion with the Spokane Falls Community
Orchestra the Lilac City Symphony Orchestra and founded the
Corbin Park Recorder Ensemble. He was on the boards of the
Westminster Chamber Orchestra and the Lilac City Symphony
Orchestra and enjoyed the many musical experiences Spokane offers
including the Spokane Symphony, the Spokane String Quartet,
Allegro and the many music festivals held throughout the year.
Tom and his wife
traveled extensively throughout Europe and other parts of the
world, enjoying the history, art and architecture of the
countries and cities they visited. Tom had many interests
including genealogy and he traced many branches of his family
back to famous (and infamous) families of Europe, which made his
travels all the more enjoyable as he imagined his ancestors
charging into battles and hosting festive banquets in the great
palaces of the world. He was a wine enthusiast and with his wife
Jeanne and his brother Larry, became a home winemaker in 1993,
producing wine under the label Chelan Street Cellars. He was a
member of the Spokane Enological Society and the North Idaho
Enological Society and enjoyed experiencing many of the great
wines of the world during his travels.
His family, friends
and clients will long remember Tom for his wonderful sense of
humor, the dear friendship he shared with so many and his
enthusiasm for life and the pursuit of happiness.
In lieu of flowers,
the family requests that memorial donations be made to Cancer
Care Northwest Foundation, 605 E. Holland, Spokane, WA99218,
Hospice of Spokane, PO Box 2215, Spokane, WA99210 or the Spokane
Chamber Music Assoc., PO Box 3741, Spokane, WA99220-3741.
