Thomas Pierson Bays

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Thomas Pierson Bays Veteran

Birth
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA
Death
5 Mar 2016 (aged 95)
Salem, Marion County, Oregon, USA
Burial
Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, USA Add to Map
Plot
SECTION D SITE 6740
Memorial ID
View Source
BAYS, THOMAS PIERSON
LT COL US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/20/1920
DATE OF DEATH: 03/05/2016
BURIED AT: SECTION D SITE 6740
WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bays, Lt. Col. Thomas Pierson 95

Mar. 20, 1920
Mar. 05, 2016

Thomas Pierson Bays was born March 20, 1920, and peacefully passed away March 5, 2016, surrounded by his family just shy of his 96th birthday. After graduating from Lakeview High School in 1938, he began his studies at Oregon State College majoring in agriculture, animal hus- bandry and specialized range management. He belonged to Alpha Zeta (agriculture honor society), Scabbard and Blade (ROTC honor society) and Withycombe Club (also an agriculture honor society). Oregon State is also where he began his proud career in the U.S. Army as part of the ROTC. Graduating in uniform in May 1942 and being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was called to active duty later that year. While based at Camp Adair, Tom met Mary Lenore Bloom on a blind date. They were married six months later. Tom and Mary were married for 48 years before her death in 1992. During World War II, Tom served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater on the Philippine Islands and was awarded the following decorations and citations for his service during WWII: the American Theater Service Medal (Pacific Theater), the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with one bronze star, the Philippine Liberation Medal and the WWII Victory Medal. After the war, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve as battalion commander of the 104th Infantry Division, 929th Field Artillery Battalion, in Salem. He attained the rank of major in 1953 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1958. In 1949, Tom began his work as a rural appraiser for the real estate loan department of Travelers Insurance in Salem. He appraised farm, ranch and timber land in the Pacific Northwest in support of property loans. After retiring from Travelers, he became a real estate broker specializing in sales of farms, ranches, timber and canneries. In addition to Toms military service and civilian career, Tom and Mary were busy raising their five children. When Tom decided to move to Capital Manor Retirement Community, he discovered many longtime friends living there and he also made many new friends among the residents and the wonderful Capital Manor staff members. Tom is survived by his children, Richard, Kenneth, Carol Sargent (Tom), Christine Alberts (Jim) and Roger; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Tom was preceded in death by his wife, Mary; sisters, Virginia Carrier, Margaret Berthold and Muriel Pacheco; and longtime friend, Doris Deter. Toms full life and proud military career is difficult to condense into a few paragraphs. See his full obituary at www.vtgolden.com Through his military and civilian career, he made friends far and wide and his family knows there are many stories to share. Please share under the guest book for Toms obituary at: vtgolden.com. In lieu of flowers, the family proudly suggests that contributions be made to the LTC (USA Retired) Thomas P. Bays Endowed Scholarship. Checks should be made payable to the Benton Community Foundation with the notation LTC Thomas P. Bays Fund in the memo field and mailed to P.O. Box 911, Corvallis, OR 97339. A service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2016, at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service with reception immediately following the service.

Published in The Oregonian from Mar. 10 to Mar. 11, 2016
BAYS, THOMAS PIERSON
LT COL US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 03/20/1920
DATE OF DEATH: 03/05/2016
BURIED AT: SECTION D SITE 6740
WILLAMETTE NATIONAL CEMETERY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bays, Lt. Col. Thomas Pierson 95

Mar. 20, 1920
Mar. 05, 2016

Thomas Pierson Bays was born March 20, 1920, and peacefully passed away March 5, 2016, surrounded by his family just shy of his 96th birthday. After graduating from Lakeview High School in 1938, he began his studies at Oregon State College majoring in agriculture, animal hus- bandry and specialized range management. He belonged to Alpha Zeta (agriculture honor society), Scabbard and Blade (ROTC honor society) and Withycombe Club (also an agriculture honor society). Oregon State is also where he began his proud career in the U.S. Army as part of the ROTC. Graduating in uniform in May 1942 and being commissioned as a second lieutenant, he was called to active duty later that year. While based at Camp Adair, Tom met Mary Lenore Bloom on a blind date. They were married six months later. Tom and Mary were married for 48 years before her death in 1992. During World War II, Tom served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theater on the Philippine Islands and was awarded the following decorations and citations for his service during WWII: the American Theater Service Medal (Pacific Theater), the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal with one bronze star, the Philippine Liberation Medal and the WWII Victory Medal. After the war, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve as battalion commander of the 104th Infantry Division, 929th Field Artillery Battalion, in Salem. He attained the rank of major in 1953 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1958. In 1949, Tom began his work as a rural appraiser for the real estate loan department of Travelers Insurance in Salem. He appraised farm, ranch and timber land in the Pacific Northwest in support of property loans. After retiring from Travelers, he became a real estate broker specializing in sales of farms, ranches, timber and canneries. In addition to Toms military service and civilian career, Tom and Mary were busy raising their five children. When Tom decided to move to Capital Manor Retirement Community, he discovered many longtime friends living there and he also made many new friends among the residents and the wonderful Capital Manor staff members. Tom is survived by his children, Richard, Kenneth, Carol Sargent (Tom), Christine Alberts (Jim) and Roger; nine grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. Tom was preceded in death by his wife, Mary; sisters, Virginia Carrier, Margaret Berthold and Muriel Pacheco; and longtime friend, Doris Deter. Toms full life and proud military career is difficult to condense into a few paragraphs. See his full obituary at www.vtgolden.com Through his military and civilian career, he made friends far and wide and his family knows there are many stories to share. Please share under the guest book for Toms obituary at: vtgolden.com. In lieu of flowers, the family proudly suggests that contributions be made to the LTC (USA Retired) Thomas P. Bays Endowed Scholarship. Checks should be made payable to the Benton Community Foundation with the notation LTC Thomas P. Bays Fund in the memo field and mailed to P.O. Box 911, Corvallis, OR 97339. A service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 13, 2016, at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service with reception immediately following the service.

Published in The Oregonian from Mar. 10 to Mar. 11, 2016