Thomas P Calkins

06/12/1931 – 02/07/2014

Thomas Calkins, native of Seattle, Washington and long resident of San Diego, died Friday evening, February 7, 2014.

After earning his degree from the University of Washington and putting in two years of military service at Ladd AFB in Alaska (1953 – 55), Tom enjoyed a career of over thirty-five years as a fishery biologist for the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC).

In 1960, a job assignment for the IATTC took him to Manta, Ecuador, where he met his future wife, Flerida Calkins. Tom and Flerida married and came to San Diego in 1962, settled in Pacific Beach, and eventually raised their three sons, Paul, David and Owen.

From Seattle to San Diego to Manta, Ecuador, Tom lived and worked near the ocean. In the early 1970s, he enjoyed two- and three-month long excursions aboard San Diego tuna boats, tracking fish populations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific for the IATTC. And later in life, after a work day in offices overlooking La Jolla Shores, he loved to come home every day, suit up, and run five miles along Mission Bay.

He was also an avid reader and filled much of his leisure time with the best works of American and European history.

Tom was much loved in his community and a constant and generous provider for his family. He is survived by his wife, Flerida, his three sons and three grandsons.

A Mass of the Resurrection will be held for Tom on Saturday, March 8 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church.

Arrangements under the direction of Eternal Hills Memorial Park, Mortuary, and Crematory, Oceanside, California.