Thomas R. Maughan

Dec. 15, 1936 – Dec. 22, 2019

Thomas R. Maughan, age 83, passed away a few days before Christmas on Dec. 22, 2019.

He was born Dec. 15, 1936 in Missoula, Montana. He had a happy childhood with a loving family and was raised on a Montana ranch with cattle and horses.

His loving parents were Alton and Ruth Maughan, and he had five siblings. He married Marky Savage when he was 23 years old, and their marriage was one of 59 years at the time of his death.

Tom was raised in Drummond, Montana and graduated high school from Drummond High School. At age 21-23, he served a mission in Eastern Canada for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and went on to earn his master’s degree in administration from California State University at Fullerton. His career as a teacher, principal and administrator spanned 45 years in the states of California, Alaska and Nevada. For 24 years, he was a commercial salmon fisherman in Alaska during the summer months. He would also sportfish whenever he could.

He had several other major interests.

He loved playing basketball and coaching both boys’ and girls’ teams in basketball throughout the years. He was very interested in Native American culture and artifacts. He was also an artist of watercolor paintings, favoring flowers, landscapes and wildlife as his subjects.

An important thing to know about Tom is that he was very non-judgmental of people. He so much enjoyed having many friends to associate with, but he always wanted to make more friends out of strangers he would happen to meet. If you were a stranger in his vicinity, you were sure to experience his charm, as he was likely to strike up a conversation with you.

He was a happy optimist all of his life. He woke every morning with a smile on his face. These qualities made him very lovable to his family.

He is survived by Marky, his wife; Thomas, Round Rock, Texas, his oldest son; Douglas, of Pahrump, Nevada, his second son; Kristi, of Las Vegas, Nevada, his only daughter; and John, of Seattle, Washington, his youngest son.

His death was very unexpected, as he enjoyed such good health, and he will be sorely missed by his family, relatives and friends.