Obituaries : Thomas D. Gasaway; Sports Enthusiast

Thomas D. Gasaway, who was a sports enthusiast and fixture at the Ojai Valley Community Recreation Center, died Sunday of a heart attack at his Meiners Oaks home. He was 42.

Born Sept. 19, 1953, in Ventura, Gasaway was a lifelong resident of Ojai.

A 1971 graduate of Nordhoff High School, Gasaway went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in English literature and physical education from Point Loma College in San Diego. He taught high school for a year, but abandoned the career in favor of working as a sports ticket broker, his mother, Dot Gasaway, said.

“It’s a shame because he was so good with young people,” she said, but explained that her son did not like the structured environment of the school system and chose instead to work for himself.

Gasaway was athletic, competing on a coed volleyball and a men’s basketball team. His death shocked family and friends.

Gasaway lived in a “bachelor pad” behind his brother David’s home, said Fawn Gasaway, David’s wife.

“He didn’t have children of his own, but he had a special way with kids, and they just seemed to love him,” she said.

He would often take his brothers’ two sons, ages 5 and 7, and coach them on how to hold a bat or throw a ball, Fawn said.

And he often ended up helping other kids, she said.

“Through our children, other kids knew him as ‘Uncle Tom,’ ” Fawn Gasaway said.

He is survived by his parents, Jesse and Dot Gasaway of Ojai; his brothers David and Michael, also of Ojai; nieces Erin Gasaway of Michigan, and Alyssa Gasaway of Ojai, and nephews Dylan and Connor Gasaway, also of Ojai.

Visitation will be today at Clausen Funeral Home in Ojai from 1 to 8 p.m.

Graveside services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at Ivy Lawn Cemetery in Ventura. A memorial service will be held at a later date, the family said.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Ojai Recreation Center. Arrangements are under the direction of Clausen Funeral Home.