Oren Harold Tomlinson, Jr.'s Obituary
TOMLINSON, Oren Harold, Jr., 77, passed away peacefully on December 4, surrounded by his loving family. The son of Oren Harold and Edna Cary Tomlinson, Tommy (as he was known) was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He attended Lamar High School before entering the University of Texas at Austin, where he was an active member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and the Army ROTC. Upon graduation, he started a lifelong career in business at the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company, specializing in insurance and employee benefits. He married Dixie Juanita Park, the love of his life, in 1962. In 1967, when Eastern Airlines was building a state-of-the-art human resources function in Miami, Tommy was recruited to join the team. He and Dixie moved to Coral Gables, where they soon adopted their two children, Thomas Park and Amy Kathryn. His portfolio at Eastern grew over the years to include corporate insurance, pensions, and union negotiations. After the demise of Eastern Airlines, he worked for two years as an executive for the Marsh & McLennan Agency before joining the Fuchs Baking Company as Director of Human Resources in 1991.
Throughout his business career, Tommy was actively involved in the community, serving on the boards of Junior Achievement, East Ridge Retirement Village, the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables, Informed Families, and Counseling Ministries of South Florida. Retirement in 1998 gave Tommy more time to enjoy an annual trip to his beloved Texas, to live part of each year in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and to delight in his four grandchildren.
Graced with a wonderful sense of humor, Tommy was a caring and devoted husband, father, and grandfather, an honorable man, an upright citizen, and every inch a gentleman. He had many lifelong friends in business, in boating, in Texas, and in North Carolina. Tommy was a good listener, always interested in others first. He faced a chronic illness throughout most of his adult life without complaint or self-pity. His strength and fortitude were an inspiration to all who knew him.
Tommy is survived by Dixie, his loving wife of 47 years; by his son, Thomas Park Tomlinson (Shari) and his daughter, Amy Kathryn Zambrano (Jaime); and by his four grandchildren, Hunter Thomas Tomlinson, Georgia Elyce Tomlinson, Delaney Park Zambrano, and Peri Park Zambrano.
A memorial service to celebrate the life of Oren “Tommy” Tomlinson will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables, 536 Coral Way, Coral Gables, 33134, on Wednesday, December 8, at 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the church’s Scholarship Fund; to the Counseling Ministry of South Florida, 1620 Drexel Ave., Miami Beach, 3319; or to the New Life Shelter, 3620 N.W. 1st Ave., Miami, 33127, where Amy is a devoted volunteer.
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