Tom Watling — longtime member, past president, former club secretary and very dedicated Rotarian — died at home on June 11th after a short illness. He was 97 years-old and a member of The Rotary Club of Turlock since 1968. His love of Rotary and its traditions was so intense that our members often referred to him as “Mr. Rotary.” He was the proud holder of multiple Paul Harris Fellowships and a fervent supporter of Polio Plus. He was still regularly attending our meetings until just a week before his death.
Tom was born and raised in Missouri. He served as a flight engineer aboard B-29 bombers in World War II and B36s during the Korean Conflict. He began his professional career as a high school English teacher. After completing his Ph.D. he and his family moved to Turlock in 1967 when he accepted a position as an administrator at the recently formed California State College Stanislaus — which later became a university, where he served until his retirement in 1988. He was the recipient of many professional awards including being honored as Turlock's Educator of the Year.
In addition to Rotary Tom was an active volunteer in a number of organizations including the YMCA, Salvation Army, and Boy Scouts. He was a longtime member of the United Methodist Church where he sang in the choir and was Lay Leader of the Turlock Congregation. His wife, Nancy, to whom he was married for 63 years, died in 2012.
In his later years He regularly visited his homebound friends, often driving there in one of his prized classic cars. He was the epitome of "Service Above Self" and a very special Rotarian.