Obituary and Tribute to ….

Obituary and Tribute to Tom Pontac

by Jeanne Pontac

Tom was born on April 7, 1936, and passed away peacefully on April 6, 2026, hours shy of his 90th birthday. Tom lived with Parkinson’s Disease for over 13 years and a three-time Cancer survivor. His motto was: “ADAPT AND OVERCOME,” something he did daily.

Up until the last few months, Tom was very active including walking 5K races and coming in first place in his age group. He also walked with the Leisure Leggers running/walking club which he started 25 years ago.

Tom’s father told him that “we were put on this earth to help others” something that was ingrained in his actions. Tom willed his body to the UC Irvine Willed Body Program and supported various charities. He couldn’t pass a person in need on the street, so he had an energy bar and $20 to give them.

Tom was an extraordinary man. His neurologist said that he was “amazing” an adjective that he loved and lived up to. He is the author of “Movies in a Minute” with 100 poems condensed in a page of poetry, describing the essence of 100 movies.

We have been married for 30 years and he used to say that he was glad he “found me” at the age of 60 (I was 50 years old). I told him that I wasn’t lost, and he said that he was!! Tom was the love of my life, and we spent 30 years traveling the world and completing marathons and ultramarathons. He was my coach and running partner and together we completed in over 400 races including Paris, Italy, Ireland, Canada, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego and Long Beach. In fact, Tom is a Legacy Runner for the Long Beach, having run its marathons since the inception in 1984.

Tom lived by several other mottos: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been” and “Old age isn’t for sissies.” He attended California State Long Beach University at the age of 60 and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a certificate in gerontology at the age of 64. His love for knowledge resulted in his taking over 270 college courses until he “dropped out” at the age of 77. Tom had a second career for 10 years at CSULB as community liaison between the University and Leisure World.

Tom also served with me in California State Military Reserves (CSMR) for four years until 2019. We both served at the Sunburst Military Academy for at risk teenagers at the Los Alamitos Base. Tom “respectfully” had to salute me while in uniform as I was an officer. When he got out, I told him that he didn’t have to salute me or call me Ma’am but just say “YES” to anything I asked or told him to do.

Tom was a loving grandfather to Ben, Cole, Luke and Fabian, and a Big Brother to Rene.

My profound loss is tempered by gratitude and love that he allowed me to share his extraordinary life for 30 years.

—Paid Obituary

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