Tommy Lee Campbell

Tommy Lee Campbell April 14, 1949 – March 28, 2026 Tom died on March 28, 2026 after a brief five week battle of the most deadly kind, Glioblastoma Brain Cancer. Between the time the cancer was diagnosed it was only five weeks before he died. Nothing could stop it. Tom was the third of four kids (Ed, Joe (deceased), Tom, and Betty) born to Marjorie and Levi Campbell of Middleton, Idaho. Tom graduated from high school in 1968 and soon after joined the Army. Tom was honorably discharged in 1978. Tom did take advantage of exploring the land. He especially enjoyed exploring the desert country of California and participating in VolksMarches, A Volksmarch (people’s march) is a popular, non-competitive, organized fitness walk in Germany, typically covering 5km, 10km, or 20km through countryside or towns. It was after Tom left the service and returned to Idaho that his life had some changes. It seems that while he was home on his last leave before discharge, he went with his sister to feed someone’s cats. He even left the person a note and said he would be back in March and he would like to take her on a date. This was the first step for Tom and me, Dana (Brown) Campbell. How could I resist such a cute guy, with great dimples and a kind heart? We celebrated our 47th anniversary at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice. Through the years Tom found himself working at Harris Mink Farm, at his Uncle Arch’s farm, as Ditch Rider 7 for Pioneer Irrigation District, working for Jansport on an industrial sewing machine, Landscape & Maintenance crew for AVX Electronics in Vancouver WA and as a part of a Landscape Maintenance Team wherever we called home. He loved being outside, that is what mattered. Our neighbors, no matter where we were living, thought we had a greenhouse in our backyard. He was always germinating something from seed, rescuing discarded plants and starting plants for others. Tom took Karate for several years. He would sometimes compete at meets but it was learning and doing the Kata that really excited him. From his karate experience he moved on to learning Tai Chi at the Odd Fellows Hall in Corvallis. Again, for Tom, it was doing the kata that brought him the most joy. Tom would fall back on Tai Chi throughout the rest of his life. You can never have enough kites in your life. Although he never found time to make his own kites, we both enjoyed kites and would attend the Long Beach Kite Festival frequently. Our kites were from the smallest pocket kite all the way up to an 8 foot wing, stunt kites of every size and design and several wind socks as well. We had the pleasure of flying them at the beach, along the Columbia River, while kayaking at a mountain lake and at several football fields. Throughout the years we have gifted many of our kites to people of all ages. The heart and soul of Tom was all about the bicycle. Tom immediately got a bicycle for his mode of transportation when he returned from the service. He would ride it to and from work, he would be seen carrying Pudgie, the family dog in his daypack, riding out to Uncle Arch’s. If the weather and road conditions were workable, he would ride his bike. The problem with riding a bicycle is keeping up with each other. Tom would try not to leave me in the dust, but it would happen. When we moved to Vancouver WA we realized that the best solution would be to get a tandem bicycle. We saved our money, Tom did the research, we found a bike shop that understood our needs and the rest is history. From then on it was all about riding the bike every day after work, on weekends, on I-84, up some really steep hills, for fundraisers, in a cattle drive, at 3 a.m. in the morning and so much more. If you ride a tandem, you learn to communicate, learn that your wife makes a good captain and it is fun stoking on the rear saddle. We, at one time, had 12 bicycles because of Tom’s various interests in bicycling options. The tandem made us the team that we would go on to be for the rest of his life. Tom’s ashes and those of our cat, Sophie, will be scattered on the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, with his buddies, the vultures. Ride on, Bike Boy! I love you so much.

Tributes

Tommy Lee Campbell

April 14, 1949 - March 28, 2026