Thomas Parker Goebel was born October 9, 1923 to Dorothy Lakin Parker and Lee Holloway Goebel. Lee passed away when Tom was six years old and Tom lived with his mother and maternal grandparents, Nellie and Dr. J.D. Parker, in Fayette, Iowa. Tom was a member of Boy Scout Troop 31 in Fayette, Iowa sponsored by the Methodist Church and led by Scout Master Rev John D. Clinton. He graduated from Fayette High School in 1941 and attended Upper Iowa University and then Iowa State University where he met Helen Olsen. They were married on November 22, 1945 at St. Paul’s on the Hill Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Tom and Helen moved to Los Angeles, California where Tom was employed as an aeronautical engineer at North American Aviation/ Rockwell and also at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). He received his masters degree from Cal Tech University and his PhD from UCLA. Tom and Helen joined St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Westwood, California in the late 1940’s and were members of the church for over 65 years. The Goebel’s were active in Scouting and outdoor activities and as a family camped each summer in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite.

After retiring Tom volunteered at the William O. Douglas Outdoor Classroom, the Audubon Ballona Wetlands, and The Turning Point. Tom was an avid walker, golfer, reader, thinker, and LA Times crossword puzzle master.

He is survived by daughters Lee Tillotson of Eldora, Colorado; Julie Goebel of Missoula, Montana; Ellen Daugherty of Dillon Montana; and grandchildren Loren, Bryce, Jenny and Glen.

Graveside committal services will be 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at Grandview Cemetery in Fayette, Iowa. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to theArthritis Foundation.