Tom David Fiske, a true adventurer and jack of all trades, said goodbye to this world and left for his final adventure on July 5, 2023 after the notoriously brutal pancreatic cancer robbed us of one of our favorite people. 

Tom was known for his love of music, for enjoying the process of getting lost, for his appreciation of the wilderness, and for how deeply he cared for his family and friends. 

Tom was born in Milwaulkee, Wisconsin on January 3, 1951. After being bribed with the promise of an olive tree in his yard, he agreed to move to Panorama City with his older brother, Jerry, his father Bud, and his mother Carolyn. After learning that olives can't be eaten directly off the tree, he settled for a lemon tree instead. His love of music grew from watching his father's barbershop quartet, which inspired him to sing his heart out at every chance.

He attended James Monroe High School, where he gained lifelong friends who sparked his zest for life by taking joyrides in milk trucks through the desert, and stretching the limits of the "all-you-can-eat" buffet. After graduation, he hitchhiked his way to being a hippie in the Oregon woods. He built a life with friends and his first wife, Becky, in a commune called Butternut Farm. Tom experimented with careers by owning a second-hand store, landscaping, and becoming a set designer/builder for movies (as reflected on his IMDb page). 

They moved to Ruch, Oregon, and welcomed son and daughter, Cosmo and Joy, where they enjoyed rural life and camped their way through the state and national park system via VW Bus and Volvo station wagon. Tom then answered an ad in the paper for forest fire fighters which sparked his career with the U.S. Forest Service, where he met some of his best friends, hooted for owls, and played way too much hackey sack on the clock. 

Towards the end of his fifteen year run with the USFS, Tom went back to school at Southern Oregon University where he received his Bachelor's Degree, and then his teaching credentials, so he could follow in his mother's footsteps as an educator. He taught middle school and high school science, as well as becoming a special education para-professional. 

Tom was lucky to find love again when his friend, Vicki Lea, introduced him to his second wife, Sue, in 2002. They were married June 19, 2004, and Tom gained step-daughters Abby and Molly. Tom's relationship with Sue was full of love and fun. She truly made him happier than he had ever been. 

Tom reveled in the role of Grumpa to Matthew, James, Audrey, Lillian, Bryce and Elizabeth, by singing them the "Cuppa Song" and wrapping every gift he ever sent them in tissue paper for easy opening.

After losing their home in Paradise, CA to the Camp Fire in 2018, Tom and Sue rebuilt their lives in the paradise of their own making in Magalia, CA, where they were surrounded by trees, and the love of their families. 

He loved a good nap in a park and a sandwich on a picnic table. He loved playing golf regularly, especially when he had the opportunity to do it with his family. He had a longstanding tradition of supporting both the San Francisco Giants, and the 49ers. 

He was known by all who loved him as a concert-goer, a sarcastic smart-ass, a great cook, a camper, a brewer and consumer of great and sometimes not-so-great beers, and a person who surrounded himself with fun people who he loved with every fiber of his being. 

“So long and take it easy, because if you start taking things seriously, it is the end of you.” -Jack Kerouac

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