Tom “Gato” Galvez passed away peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 5, 2016, after a lengthy illness.
He was born on May 10, 1955, to Joe and Esther Galvez, and grew up in Carpinteria with his two brothers and three sisters. Some of his favorite memories were all the shenanigans he and his brothers and sisters used to get into while living on the ranch.
Upon moving from the ranch and into the house on Via Real at the age of 11 years old, he began dating the girl next door, who would eventually become his devoted wife of 40 years.
Tom was an avid fisherman. He loved the outdoors — camping, hunting, taking his family to Mammoth when the boys were younger, and going on the annual fishing trip with his longtime buddy, Joe Cardenas, and friends.
Tom was a jokester and always had funny stories to tell! His ability to have you crying tears of laughter will greatly be missed.
Tom was the proud grounds keeper of St. Joseph’s Church for over 30 years until he had to retire, due to his medical condition.
During his retirement, if not seen at the Chumash Casino, you might see him cruising around Carpinteria, hanging out in front of Reynaldos, or lending a helping hand to a friend.
Tom was a proud Grandpa, and as long as he was feeling up to it, would always attend his granddaughters’ sports events and school award assemblies. He was their biggest fan and will deeply be missed by his “Pretty Girls.”
He is survived by the love of his life, Josie, and their two sons, Tom Jr. and Tim (Rosalie), and their three daughters, Addisyn, Avery and Mariah, who were his pride and joy; his mother, Esther (Bill), sisters, Ernestine (Gil) Hall, Connie (Bob) Morales and Terry; brothers, Joe (Nelly) and Ed (Anita); numerous nieces and nephews; his mother -in-law and father-in-law, Lola and Pablo Santos; brother-in-law, Paul Santos (Sandra); and sister-in-law, Sylvia Santos (Jessie).
He was preceded in death by his father, Joe, niece, Joenelle, brother-in-law, Mick, and numerous aunts and uncles.
The family would like to thank all of the doctors and nurses at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Sansum Clinic who helped care for Tom over the last 10 years.
A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, Feb. 13, at Carpinteria Cemetery at 11a.m., with a reception immediately following at Manning Park, Area 9.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that any donations be made to Sarah House, where they took such wonderful care of our Tom in his final days.