Person:Thomas Blocher (1)

He attended Rock Island Elementary School, where he was then livingacross the street; and later attended Wenatchee High School, where he graduated in the class of 1945. During his High School years he wasworking as a Elevator Boy at the Cascadian Hotel, which is still standing today in the center of Wenatchee. He told stories about howhe work miss the bus after work and had to walk home 10 miles in the snow. When he left the Cascadian Hotel, he was award a lollipop with signatures of all his co-workers. This lollipop is still in existence and in posession of his son, David, who deems it as a family heirloom.

At the age of 17, he was drafted by the Army to fight in World War II,but the war ended on the day he entered. On that same day as he was being inspected by a drill instructor, he was confronted for not wearing a tie with his uniform. He responded with a line like "Well Iam sorry, hope I didn't hurt your feelings or anything!" and the DrillInstructor moved on thinking that he was a bit strange. At that pointThomas thought he was in the clear and started thinking "Gee, thesepeople are not so bad after all!" Later that night, the Drill Instructor woke Thomas out of his rack and order him to get his toothbrush and to scrub the stairs with it. He had a different point ofview of the Army from that day on. He was discharge from the Army two years later at the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6).

After he was out of the Army, he returned to Wenatchee to work for theChelan County Public Utility District, and later attended to the PerryInstitute to train as an airplane mechanic, and after graduation hereceived an offer to begin his occupation in Denver, Colorado; but hisfirst wife, Bonnie, won't comply and move with him. After his divorcefrom Bonnie, he was again offered the position in Denver, but passedit up again for not wanting to be away from his oldest daughter,Marcia, or his father, who was not in good health.

Thomas then went to work for Alcola for a couple years as the DeliveryPerson, and then later worked for Goodfellows Construction, theneventually started working for S&D Paving for 18 years until thecompany sold out to Basin Asphalt, which was non-union. He took anearly Teamster Retirement at the age of 55.

He was also the owner of various businesses over the years, owning asmall restruant in Rock Island called "The Flying Saucers" during the mid-50s, a tavern called "The Rock Island Tavern" that he sold in 1962, which his buyer had falsely accused him of embezzlement. Thomas was arrested and booked on these charges, but on the day the courts were to proceed, the plaintiff fail to appear and as a result the charges were dropped. The father of the accuser paid for Thomas' lawyer fees and in turn Thomas help him run the tavern, which was now in the possession of the father. Thomas also owned and operated a Fruit Stand on the East outskirts of Rock Island, but sold it to a couple of midgets when they bought the small two bedroom house. In early 1980, he bought Mid-State Cleaners, which was located in the middle part of East Wenatchee. He operated it for two years and sold it in 1982.

In 1984, he fell off a ladder while pruning the trees in his Apple Orchard behind his house. His leg was caught between the steps and as a result he crushed his knee. A new artificial knee was put in its place, but in late 1990, half of the bone marrow below his left knee was hollowed out and two doctors agreed to remove the leg, but apathologist, Dr. Mark Broberg, had considered an experiment by replacing the hollow portion of the leg with cement. At the this time the experiment was a remarkable success, despite the occasional pains,and he still has his leg to this day. His leg has undergone several surgeries and today he occasionally uses a wheel chair to get around in the house.

In 1997, he was living in a brand new house he purchased with his wife, Peggy. The house is locate at 111 Hanna Place in Rock Island,Washington. This was to be his final home.

He is interested in craftsmanship and often begins many projects in his older years. For example he built a small shed at the age of 69 at his home on the corner of 1st & Indiana Ave. in Rock Island. He had the shed transport to his new place at 111 Hanna Place. Later built an extension at the age of 71.

1. ↑ He was delivered in the old Deaconess Hospital located in South Wenatchee. The hospital went out of operation in the late 1970s, but the building still stands vacant to this day.
2. ↑ On November 6, 1999, his his wife, Peggy, his son, David, his niece,Lakin, and David's friend, Shawn Keithley, were returning from thelocal tavern called "The Rock Bar & Grill", which Thomas once owned inthe early 1960's, his son David was the first to enter into the houseand looked into the Master Bedroom from the front door and saw hisfather sitting on the floor next to his bed. David knew he fell whilemaking an attempt to get on his bed. The next morning Thomas had tobe assisted by his wife and son, David, off the toilet seat in theMaster Bathroom after being unable to move himself for three hours. Hewas transported via ambulance to North Central Washington Hospital forpossible tumors. It was discovered that Thomas had a tumor in hislung that spread and developed 2 large tumors on his brain. TheRadiology treatment to shrink the tumors was a failed attempt. He wasreturned to his home in Rock Island being promised to died at home ashis fore-fathers have before him. He was estimated to live foranother 3-6 months after the discovery of the tumors.
   
   He died in the comfort of his home at 7:45 pm. with the presence ofhis wife, Peggy; daughter, Sheila; his grand daughter, Lakin; andfamily friend, Alice (Fitzsimmons) Lahd. It is noted that he did nothave any pains or suffering and departed peacefully. His daughter, Marcia; who he has never seen since 1987 was never found but known tostill be living according to an active Social Security number.
   
   Since his death, his daughter was found living in South Seattle onFebruary 29, 2004. His son, David, and wife, Peggy (half brother andstep-mother to Marcia) went to see Marcia in her home on March 1, 2004. During this visit, many mysteries of her missing years havebeen revealed. The biggest mystery was that her mother, Bonnie Jean(Greywold) Willis (Thomas' ex-wife), who claimed that she did not haveany idea of where Marcia was during Thomas dying days, did indeed knowwhere Marcia was located and kept it hidden from him, resulting thathe would never get to see his daughter one more time before he died. Likewise she didn't bother to inform Marcia of her father's death.Marcia's absence was reconciled with her father's side of her family,as they now know the more of the real truth behind her near 16 years of absence.