Thomas MacCalla of Ojai, 72, passed away on August 5, 2014, after several years' battle with cancer. He was born April 19, 1942, in Battle Creek, Michigan, and had 4 siblings. He graduated from high school there and also attended Kellogg Community College before he moved on to Michigan State for his BA degree and a teaching certificate.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1960 to accept a job teaching high school English. For several years Tom attended graduate school at local universities and earned an MA in English and an MA in Educational Administration. In 1968 he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Norway to be a traveling lecturer for a year. Returning to L.A., he continued his career in the school system by working, at various times, as a coach, a counselor, school dean, Assistant Principal and Principal of secondary schools.
In 1977 Tom married Jean Kilmurray and they had two sons, Matthew and Andrew MacCalla. Andrew and his wife, Melissa, live in Ojai with their children Finley and Isla. Matt and his wife, Joanna, married last year and are living in her homeland of England.
After retirement in 2001, Tom and Jean moved to Ojai after living 28 years in Topanga Canyon. They spent their summers at their beachfront condo in San Clemente where Tom loved to do distance swimming in the ocean every day. Due to their love of travel, and their sons' foreign graduate studies, they traveled extensively---in Scotland, Denmark, Uruguay, China, England and Australia. On other trips they hiked and biked in such places as Ireland, Italy, Costa Rico, Croatia, France, Greece. For almost 25 years Tom, with several buddies, took two week hiking, kayaking and backpacking trips. He traveled all over the world on these.
For 31 years Tom worked as a L.A. County Reserve Deputy Sheriff. In Ojai he became an Ojai Valley Security Patrol Officer. His activities in Ojai included the Ojai Valley Retired Men's Club, the Cronies Tennis Group and the Ojai Tennis Tournament. He was a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura.
There will be a memorial service at the Ventura UU Church, 5654 Ralston Street, on Sept 7 at 4pm in the afternoon. Tom's favorite charities are the Ojai Land Conservancy and Los Padres Forest Watch.
Arrangements are under the direction of JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE, Ventura.