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Dr. Diers established renowned Child Guidance Clinic
Funeral services will be held today for Dr. Wallace C. Diers, southern Arizona’s first clinical psychologist who helped open the Child Guidance Clinic in Tucson.
Dr. Diers, who died Sunday after battling cancer, was 76.
His work with troubled children spanned the region, as he would visit the Southern Arizona Boys Ranch and the Girls Living Center to offer counseling.
”He was one of the pioneers,” said Greg Diers, Dr. Diers’ son. ”He was quite active in getting mental health programs started in other counties in southern Arizona.”
Dr. Diers’ overwhelming attention to his patients will be a major part of his vast legacy, family members said.
”He cared a lot about his patients. He stayed in contact with them to see how they were doing,” said Greg Diers, 50.
After attending Ohio University, Dr. Diers enlisted in the U.S. Army. He served as a tech sergeant in the Quartermaster Corps, working around the world, including Normandy, and other parts of northern France and Rhineland in western Germany, Greg Diers said.
For his military service, Dr. Diers received several medals, including the Good Conduct Medal, Greg Diers said.
After his discharge from the Army in November 1945, Dr. Diers received a degree in psychology from Indiana University. His graduate studies in philosophy were done at the University of Ohio.
In 1956, Dr. Diers moved to Tucson and helped open the renowned clinic. He later went in to private practice and became a research associate with the University of Arizona.
Then-Gov. Jack Williams appointed Dr. Diers to the state Board of Psychologists, and Dr. Diers served as a member of several other associations, including the American Psychological Association, the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and the Pima County Mental Health Association.
Aside from his work, Dr. Diers traveled with his family throughout southern Arizona, his family remembers.
Greg Diers said the family visited numerous Indian reservations and often vacationed where they could be completely alone but together.
”There weren’t too many places that we didn’t cover in Arizona,” said Diana Knapp, 47, Dr. Diers’ daughter.
Greg Diers said his father enjoyed hiking and camping on vacations.
Dr. Diers’ children said their father’s sense of humor and funloving ways will be remembered always.
Even after he began living in an elder care facility, Dr. Diers’ warm personality and jokes kept everyone entertained.
”There was a lively dinner conversation there every night,” Greg Diers said. ”He had a number of ladies there fighting over him.”
Dr. Diers is survived by his son and daughter, along with granddaughter Megan Humphries, all of whom are from Tucson. His wife Judy died in 1996.
Funeral services will be today at 1 p.m. at East Lawn Palms Mortuary chapel, 5801 E. Grant Road. Burial will follow at the cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, family members request donations be made to the American Diabetes Association.
(Dated May 04, 2000)
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Mr. Tom founded more than two dozen businesses
Soleng Tom, known as a shrewd businessman, a giving public servant and a man proud of his heritage and his community, has died at age 88.
Mr. Tom died Friday at a local hospice. His son, Arthur Tom of Tucson, said, ”I had been caring for him during the last few months and he was very active, considering his frailness. He had that energy, wanting to do this, go here, have dinner here. I accommodated that.”
Tucson businesswoman and civic figure Esther Don Tang, whose sister, Mae Don, was married to Mr. Tom in 1941 and remained his wife until her death in 1985, said, ”He was one of the early young men who came here to Tucson and started to work very hard, very diligently.”
She added, ”He did a lot of community work among the Chinese in the community. He was always the wonder person, very active, very enthusiastic about doing things. He helped many of the young newcomers from China get started.”
Pima County Supervisor Raul Grijalva, who served on the Tucson Unified School District 1 board with Mr. Tom, said, ”We both served on the board at a time when the district was going through a lot of big social issues, and we clashed on that. It wasn’t personal.
”I learned a lot from Soleng about civility. He was a very gracious man. Soleng Tom was part of the character of this town, both as a businessman and a public servant, and his family should be proud of that.”
Mr. Tom was born March 11, 1912, in Canton, China, on the South China Sea, the son of a small merchant hotel family. He immigrated to the United States in the late 1920s, working in the San Francisco area unloading produce on the docks and at other jobs.
He moved to Tucson in 1928 to join an uncle, who operated a laundry here. Mr. Tom worked in a Chinese restaurant, and later at the laundry, scrubbing clothing on a washboard, ironing it, and then delivering it by bicycle in a basket.
With the assistance of friends and relatives, he opened and operated Tom Wing Market at the northwest corner of Convent and Simpson streets from 1929 through 1934.
Five years later, he opened Soleng Supermarket on the 2300 block of South Sixth Avenue near 36th Street. Eventually he owned the entire block, operating Soleng Center, an early ”shopping center.”
During the course of more than six decades, Mr. Tom would found more than two dozen businesses here, including groceries, Soleng Realty and Trust, a drug store, gasoline station and cotton farm, an auction house, a restaurant and a bakery .
Known as a shrewd businessman who seldom was on the losing end of a business deal, he equally was considered a man generous with his time and money for public causes.
He served 16 years – 1964-80 – on the Tucson Unified School District governing board, as president four times and clerk three times. His philosophy in that capacity matched his personal philosophy – the ”bootstrap” system of working to further oneself, rather than relying on handouts from others.
During his tenure, the board grappled with a court-ordered desegregation situation that dragged out for five years, confrontations with the Tucson Education Association, and, in 1978, a teacher’s strike.
Mr. Tom earned an aeronautical engineering degree at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.; assisted with the training of Chinese nationalist pilots at Marana during World War II, served in the Navy (1944-46); and was very active in the American Legion after the war, rising through local, state and national ranks to serve as national vice-commander (1965-66).
Locally, he was active in countless organizations, including Chinese Welfare Council, Chinese Senior Citizens Organization, the YMCA, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the local chapter of the Chinese-American Citizens Alliance, and others.
In 1981, he was named the Tucson Advertising Club’s Man of the Year in honor of his work with TUSD, and in 1989, the district honored him by naming an elementary school after him: Soleng Tom Elementary School, 10520 E. Camino Quince.
Visitation is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. today at Arizona Mortuary University Chapel, 7 E. University Blvd. Funeral services are to be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Blvd. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery.
Survivors include two sons, Arthur Tom of Tucson and Dr. Soleng Tom Jr. of Palo Alto, Calif.; a daughter, Tom Wi King of New York; and two grandsons.
The family suggests remembrances to the American Heart Association.
(Dated May 03, 2000)
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Longtime Tucsonan Soleng Tom dead at 88
Memorial services are tomorrow for Soleng Tom, known as a shrewd businessman, a giving public servant and a man proud of his heritage.
Mr. Tom, 88, died Friday at a Tucson hospice. Cause of death was not given.
”I had been caring for him during the last few months, and he was very active, considering his frailness. He had that energy, wanting to do this, go here, have dinner here,” said son Arthur Tom of Tucson.
Tucson businesswoman and sister-in-law Esther Don Tang said, ”He was one of the early young men who came here to Tucson, and started to work very hard, very diligently.
”He did a lot of community work among the Chinese in the community. He was always the wonder person, very active, very enthusiastic . . .,” said Tang, whose sister, Mae Don, married Mr. Tom in 1941 and remained his wife until her death in 1985.
Mr. Tom was born March 11, 1912, in Canton, China, to a merchant hotel family. He moved to the United States in the late 1920s, working in the San Francisco area unloading produce on the docks and at other jobs.
He moved to Tucson in 1928 to join an uncle, who operated a laundry here.
He rose to become a leading city businessman, owning many companies including Tom Wing Market and Soleng Supermarket.
He served 16 years – 1964-80 – on the Tucson Unified School District board, as president four times and clerk three times. His TUSD philosophy matched his personal philosophy – the ”bootstrap” system of working to further oneself.
Visitation was set for 5 to 8 p.m. today at Arizona Mortuary University Chapel, 7 E. University Blvd. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Sabbar Shrine Temple, 450 S. Tucson Blvd.
He is also survived by a son, Soleng Tom Jr. of California; a daughter, Tom Wi King of New York; and two grandsons.
(Dated May 02, 2000)
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Raul L. Romero, ex-TFD battalion chief
Raul L. Romero was a devoted family man who was a friend to anyone in need, one of his sons, Augustine Romero, remembered.
The senior Romero, 57, a former Tucson Fire Department battalion chief, died March 29. A memorial service was held this morning at St. Margaret’s Church, 801 N. Grande Ave.
”He was always reaching out to people,” Augustine Romero said. ”Through his successes and failures, he taught so many of us lessons, and we’ll always have him through those lessons. He showed me what it is to be a man and a great father.”
Mr. Romero, a motorcycle-riding father of five, joined the Fire Department in 1965 and served there for 28 years, family members said.
He was a battalion chief in charge of training for one year starting in 1992. A debilitating disease prompted his retirement in 1993.
A graduate of Pueblo High School, Mr. Romero served in the U.S. Navy for a short time until acute motion sickness forced him to leave boot camp.
Mr. Romero attended Pima Community College and the University of Arizona but did not receive a degree. Nevertheless, Augustine Romero said his father was the smartest man he ever knew.
Mr. Romero’s interests lay in politics and economics. He often would discuss world issues with friends and had a knack for coming up with information not known to many people, Augustine Romero said.
Mr. Romero would drop everything at a moment’s notice to attend important events for his children, Augustine Romero said.
”I never realized how much he watched me play as a college baseball player,” he said. ”He really was there.”
In addition to Augustine, Mr. Romero is survived by his mother, Esther Romero; another son, Michael Romero; daughters Kim Senska, Monica Martinez and Andrea Gastelum; and three grandchildren.
Mr. Romero is also survived by sisters Nancy Figueroa, Irene Cortez and Becky Watson, and a brother, Oscar Romero.
The family suggested that memorial donations be made to the local chapter of the United Way, 6840 E. Broadway, Tucson, Ariz. 85710.
(Dated Apr 03, 2000)
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Sue Garland, a teacher who inspired educators and her students
Friends, family and colleagues of Sue Garland said inspirational teachers are too rarely recognized for their efforts. They work in virtual anonymity, bringing out the best in others.
Garland, known as Sue Lauria while teaching locally, was actively involved in educating students in the Tucson Unified School District for 25 years.
Garland, who left Tucson in 1996, died in a car accident Mar. 9 near her home in Moody, Texas. She was 59.
During her career, which began in 1971, Garland taught at Booth-Fickett Math/Science Magnet, Vail Middle School and Santa Rita High School.
”She had very high expectations,” said Kathy Ramage-White, who worked with Garland at Santa Rita.
”Students seemed to thrive under her,” Ramage-White said.
The former Tucson Education Association President knows from experience. Ramage-White’s son, Matthew, was in Garland’s ninth-grade English class.
”He said that she had really inspired him,” Ramage-White said.
Inspiration was a common theme in descriptions of Garland, who was an English teacher.
”She was an outstanding teacher,” said Pat Hale, principal at Santa Rita from 1976 to 1994. ”She just challenged the kids and got the best out of every one of them.”
Cathy Welsh, a fellow English teacher at Booth-Fickett, said she admired Garland’s teaching style.
”She was very creative and always had innovative ideas and activities that she did in her classroom,” said Welsh, who has been at Booth-Fickett for 27 years. ”She was an excellent, superior teacher.”
”She was very creative (as a teacher),” said Judy Hiner, chair of the English Department at Santa Rita. ”With her freshman, for example, they were always building models and putting on plays. She was really interested in helping students develop to their full potential.”
But Garland’s efforts weren’t confined to the classroom. She also donated her time to organizations such as the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
The NCA evaluates and accredits schools in 19 states including Arizona, as well as U.S. State Department schools worldwide.
Garland served as an evaluation team chairwoman for many years.
George Babich, the NCA’s deputy director for Arizona, said Garland was instrumental in getting Booth-Fickett accredited by the organization.
While it is common for Arizona’s high schools to be accredited by the NCA, the state doesn’t require a school to meet more than fire and safety standards before opening and operating, Babich said.
As a result, elementary and middle schools are commonly not accredited. Booth-Fickett was the first middle school in TUSD to have teachers that met the training and specialization requirements needed for the NCA designation, Babich said.
Babich said Garland wanted to contribute to education on a grander scale than just within her classroom.”
In 1996, the year Garland retired from TUSD, she received the NCA’s highest award, the Circle of Excellence, offered to one or two teachers each year, Babich said.
He said Garland was also very concerned with helping middle school students as they made the difficult and awkward transition from childhood to adulthood.
She was actively involved in the Western Regional Middle Level Association, an advocacy group for fifth- to ninth-grade education, which has chapters in 14 states.
Babich said Garland, leading by example, helped pave the way for opening up more administrative opportunities for women in education.
”Women have taken a giant step forward in terms of their expertise, and a lot of that was due to people like Sue,” Babich said.
”(She didn’t) go out and champion women’s rights, but just demonstrated that women and men can contribute on equal par,” he said. ”She wasn’t out to be recognized; she was just out to contribute.”
Born Jamie Sunela Huckabee on Mar. 5, 1941, in Ireland, Texas, Garland attended Waco High School and came to the University of Arizona, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, graduating in 1971.
Garland was married to Sam Lauria, from whom she separated in 1995, during much of her time in Tucson. After retiring from Santa Rita 1996, she returned to her hometown area of Waco, Texas.
It was there that she met and married Clarence Garland in 1997.
One of the highlights of Garland’s teaching career came in 1991, when she was named by Flinn Scholar Cindy Shorzman as the teacher who had most encouraged her to succeed.
She, along with several teachers from other states, were honored with a trip to Washington and an audience with then-President George Bush in the White House’s Rose Garden.
An avid UA Wildcat basketball and football fan, Garland was active in the university’s College of Education Alumni Association and served as co-hostess of Homecoming activities for many years.
She was also a member of ADK Sigma, an education honorary sorority.
Garland, who loved to jog, sponsored decathlon teams at Santa Rita, where she taught for about 10 years. She also helped found the Tucson Education Association’s Women’s Golf League in 1971.
”She was a very special person,” said Sam Lauria, who remained close with Garland after their separation . ”Everybody seemed to be close with her that came in contact with her.”
Although Garland had no children of her own, Lauria said she helped him raise his two daughters and one son from a previous marriage. He said his four grandchildren referred to her as ”Granny Sue.”
Garland is survived by her parents, J.M. and Gladys Huckabee of Hewitt, Texas; husband Clarence Garland of Moody, Texas; and many friends in Tucson and Texas.
”Students need teachers of her caliber these days,” Hale said. ”There’s not enough that you can say about her contributions. She’s just a tremendous loss to education.”
(Dated Apr 01, 2000)
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