Obituary

Thomas Lee Christison, born in 1943, had the apt initials of TLC, which can stand for Tender Loving Care. Above all else, Tom loved his family. He was a business man, a world traveler, a basketball enthusiast (go Lakers!), an Air Force veteran, but will be most remembered as a dedicated husband by his wife Beth, and as a concerned father by his children, Nikki and Darren. He always ended calls with the words “love you”, never leaving them unsaid for a rainy day.

He started his work life by enlisting in the Air Force for four years after graduating from Florida Atlantic University, he then worked at Oscar Meyer (his daughter Nikki, born in 1972, was jokingly called the Oscar Meyer Baby). Tom eventually joined Fluor Daniel working as a contracts manager for over 30 years. Working at Fluor kicked off his world travels with the opportunity to live in South Africa twice for a total of ten years.

After relocating his family to South Africa in 1976, his son Darren was born in 1979. Moving to South Africa led to a passion for travel for the entire family starting with exploring countries in Europe along the way whenever the family had the opportunity to travel back to the US for “home-leave”.

After a fight against cancer, Tom retired from Fluor, and world cruising became one of his favorite pastimes. Visiting new places in Mexico, the Panama Canal, Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, the Amazon River, and Tahiti, he and Beth made lifelong friends along the way.

Survived by his wife of 56 years Beth, Nikki and her husband Scott, their children, Alex and Piper, Darren and his wife Cindy and their two children Kira and Kalen. Tom will be best remembered for his dry sense of humor, storytelling, and for the love of his family. Beth has two words for what he meant to her – “My Heart”.