Thomas Means Culbertson ’39

ARCHITECT OF DISTINCTION, loving family man, Tom died suddenly on Jan. 1, 1993, at the Honolulu nursing home where he had been cared for in his long struggle against Alzheimer's.

After college, Tom was an air navigator for Pan American Air Ferries, delivering aircraft to Africa and the Middle East. In 1942, he switched to the Naval Air Transport Service as lieutenant U.S.N.R. for four years in the Pacific.

In 1946, he married jean Alexander; they settled in Orinda, Calif., and static d their family of four: Thomas 111 '71, Bruce, Catherine, and Alexander. As an architect, Tom most enjoyed designing private residences. But he found his assignment as project architect for a site search for the California State college system an interesting challenge. After moving to Honolulu, he supervised, for a while, the renovation of Iolani Palace. He served on the boards of the East Bay and Honolulu chapters of the American Institute of Architects, and wrote for the HAWAII ARCHITECT, a Honolulu A.I.A. chapter monthly magazine. He also served on the Governor's Developmental Disabilities Council in Hawaii.

Many of us have traveled with jean and Tom on our Class trips and know what fun it was to be with them. With jean and her family we feel a sense of loss, and to them we offer our sincere sympathy.

The Class of 1939