The following was written/posted by classmate Richard Engstrom, 4/5/2021.  

Deceased Classmate: Tom Harrelson
Date Of Birth: September-3-1951
Date Deceased: March-13-2021
Age at Death: 69
Cause of Death: Complications of Parkinson's Disease
Classmate City: Bellevue
Classmate State: WA
Classmate Country: USA
Was a Veteran: Yes Air Force
Survived By: His wife Beverly Harrelson

It is with great sadness that I share the passing of our classmate and my best friend Tom Harrelson. Tom passed away at his home in Bellevue, Washington on March, 13th 2021. The following are some of the memories I have of Tom. I met Tom as Air Force dependents on DMAFB in 1965 and we remained close friends until his passing 56 years later. Both our fathers retired from military service in 1966 and chose to remain in Tucson after retirement. We were inseparable during the four PV years and beyond. We considered each other's parents our own while we were growing up. Tom lived south of 22nd St. on Prudence Rd and I in Lakeside and after school and on weekends we'd spend numerous hours riding our motorcycles, exploring and camping in the deserts southeast of Tucson. Oops, there went our grades! As we rode and explored the local areas, Tom developed an interest in the native minerals and 'rocks' and his natural artistic and creative talents started to develop. His growing interest in jewelry creation and his lapidary skills later grew into his career profession and Tom became a very successful business owner as a gemologist based in Bellevue, WA. After high school, we both attended NAU in the Forestry Department and after three semesters we transferred back to the U of A. In early 1971 I enlisted in the Navy and later that year Tom enlisted in the Air Force. Upon completion of our respective enlistments, I settled in Silicon Valley near San Jose, CA and Tom pursued his jewelry and gem interests by attending the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, CA. Tom continued his education at GIA and graduated #1 in his graduating class and chose to start his business and career in Bellevue, WA around 1978. We always stayed in touch and even though we chose totally different career paths, mine in computer chip manufacturing and Tom in diamonds and colored stones, that always sounded much more exciting to me! Tom was 23 days older than me so for decades I'd call him on his birthday when he turned a year older and remind him he was older than me, we'd have a few laughs and update each other on events in our lives and basically just stay in touch! In 1978 I moved to the Salt Lake City area for a career opportunity and Tom would visit and ski the fabulous snow and ski resorts with me in that area, we rafted rivers and fished there also. I'd travel to visit Tom in his beautiful state of Washington. In 1983 I moved back to Tucson from SLC to work with Burr-Brown Research Corporation and each year Tom would travel to Tucson from Bellevue to display his 'stones' at the annual gem show in February, enjoying Tucson's weather vs. the cold and damp of Seattle! Tom would take some 'time-off' from the gem show and we'd golf, hike, party or whatever while he was back in Tucson. Tom would always have a 'vendors pass' for me during the show which gained me access to where the dealers from around the world were selling to other dealers. In 1988 I moved to Chandler, AZ from Tucson for a career opportunity with Intel Corporation. In May, 1989 Tom and his wife to be, Beverly and I attended the PV 20th reunion at La Paloma and it's there I met my future wife, Nancy Hawke! Two years later in 1991 Tom was the best man at our wedding! Two years after that Nancy and I joined Tom and Beverly at their wedding in Las Vegas! As time went on, we'd still have our birthday phone calls, our get togethers at the gem show, we'd still golf and hike when we could over the upcoming years. In approximately 2009 Tom called and said he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease at 57 years old. It's really a nasty, terrible disease and as time went on it made day to day life very difficult for Tom. When we'd spend time talking on the phone during Tom's later years I'd think about how I admired Tom's positive and optimistic attitude about his approach in dealing with his ugly disease. I marveled how focused and committed he stayed in his daily physical activities to do what was in his power to improve his life while dealing with his limitations. I'd tell him how I respected and admired his motivation and efforts and how I wished I had the same, he'd say to me "hey buddy, do it because you can, no excuses" so now I have no excuses, because I can! Both Tom's parents and his two sisters have passed, Tom never had any children and is survived by his beautiful wife Beverly! Rest in peace buddy, your earthly pain and struggles are over, the times we spent together and the memories we shared are some of the fondest in my life that I'll remember and cherish forever!