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Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

Tom Geiger - NorCal Member Since July 2007


Update after Tom's Memorial Service 
Hi Everyone,
A few of our members were able to attend Tom's memorial service.  The following is from the program:

The Geigers thank you for your countless prayers, words of encouragement, thoughtful cards, phone calls and gifts.
Thank you, dear church family, for yard work that was done to conquer the Geiger Jungle.
A very heartfelt thank you to each of our amazing caregivers and medical support angels!
Thank you to all the loving and thoughtful people who helped put this service and reception together -- you know who you are!
Thank you so much, Tracy Bryant, for putting together the slideshow and for helping me through this time and for standing by me for 22 years --through it all! You are my sister in Christ and in truth.
Dedee Geiger
Donations may be made to:

Sonoma County Pro-Life
PO Box 4035
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
http://sonomaprolife.org/ 

UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital
UCSF Foundation B-8002
PO Box 45339
San Francisco, CA 94145-0339
https://give.ucsfbenioffchildrens.org/landing/ways-to-give


On the evening of June 17, 2017, Tom Geiger, a long time NorCal MINIs member passed away.  Tom had been a member of NorCal MINIs since July of 2007.

The following is a link to a photo gallery of pictures of Tom I was able to find in the Club's photos.  I've set the gallery open, so if you have photos of Tom that you'd like to share, please add them.
https://goo.gl/photos/XS4XoDoo1mZqUcG87

Here's his obituary,
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws. His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd. Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-frederick-geiger&pid=185866853#sthash.bC4uRUPt.dpuf
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws. His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd. Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-frederick-geiger&pid=185866853#sthash.bC4uRUPt.dpuf
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws. His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd. Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-frederick-geiger&pid=185866853#sthash.bC4uRUPt.dpuf
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws. His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd. Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-frederick-geiger&pid=185866853#sthash.bC4uRUPt.dpuf
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws. His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd. Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?n=thomas-frederick-geiger&pid=185866853#sthash.bC4uRUPt.dpuf
GEIGER, Thomas Frederick Tom went home to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 69 years old on June 17, 2017. He was born in Stockton, California on August 9, 1947, to Elmer and Verna Geiger. When Tom was six and his brother Jim was four, the family moved to Norwalk, California where he graduated from Excelsior High School in 1965. In 1967, he volunteered for service in the US Navy where he spent four years. Tom served on the USS Saratoga CVA-60 from July 1969 to January 1970 and the USS Ranger CVA-60 from February 1970 to August 1971. In 1975, Tom graduated from Sacramento City College with an AS degree in Aviation Maintenance. In July 1975, He moved to Sonoma County to work for Stol Air. In 1982, Tom married the mother of his children, Lorie Yates and they raised their two children, Keith and Darla, in Sebastopol California. The family enjoyed trips to Lodi to see their grandma Verna, camping trips, and vacations to Disneyland, North Carolina, and other adventures. Tom worked for Sonoma County Community Hospital/Sutter Medical Center as Stationary Engineer from 1984 to 2007. He worked at Sonoma Developmental Center from 2007 to 2017. He married his loving wife Dedee on October 11th, 2014, spending his golden years with her while being semi-retired and going on vacations to Lake Tahoe, Kauai, AZ, FL, WA, and other adventures. Tom was an active member of Sebastopol Christian Church for 22 years. He had many interests in life including car racing such as go kart racing, working on his brother's pit crew, and watching NASCAR, car clubs such as Super Coupe Club Thunderbird of America and NorCal Mini Cooper Club, working on planes, motorcycles, and cars, sound engineering for his church, singing in the church choir and attending Bible study with Dedee, and gardening. Tom was preceded in death by his parents and his grandmother Leota Nickerson. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Dedee Coral Geiger, his children Keith Ballard Geiger and Darla Tillman (Davin), the mother of his children Lorie Spencer, his granddaughter Claire Ojeda-Geiger, his brother James Geiger (Amy), Dedee's children Trevor Brinton (Meredith) and Sean Brinton (Sunset), grandchildren Gabriel, Chase, and Meryl, many nieces, nephews, and in-laws.
 His burial will be at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park on Friday, June 23rd.
 Memorial Service will be held at Sebastopol Christian Church at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 1st, 7433 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, CA. Reception to follow.
A special note from Dedee to the club: "Thank you all so much for loving us along the highways & bi-ways. My Love."

Hwy 49 - Mother Lode Highland Games Recap




We (7 cars & 10 people) had a beautiful day full of sunshine and fun this past Saturday as we drove along Hwy 49 and took in the Mother Lode Highland Games. 


New member Matt H. join us for this run for the first time.  Facebook group lurker Steve J. came by our Starbucks gathering point to meet us and to find out how a run works and just say hello.  It was great to meet Matt & Steve in person.  Special guest of the day was Brian B.'s mom, Helen.

Ann R. came all the way down from Mendocino. Via Facebook she let me know, "the nice ladies in the VIP lounge awarded me 'the prize for the person who came the most distance, from a town that started with "M"'. Lovely bottle of rose:)."  Bonus for Ann!

After leaving Stockton we drove along Hwy 88 to Hwy 12 into San Andreas.  Matt and Craig were going exploring on their own at this point as the rest of us were going onto Plymouth for the games via Hwy 49.

Our stopping point in San Andreas was the mural you see below that caught me eye as we passed by it.  You can find the mural at 64 E St Charles St, San Andreas, CA 95249.  We took over the parking lot to position the MINIs just so for the photo op.  We got to meet the artist while we were there as he was working on a few finishing touches to the mural on the front of the building.  Vern Mayhall is very talented.  You had to take the time to look at all of his details. A snake was a clock, Bigfoot among the trees, and Swamp Thing to name a few.



Here's Vern posing with our cars and the mural. I'm going to have to take another drive out in the fall to see the completed work.  Saturday he was working on an eagle that will be up under the eve of the front door.



Mother Lode Highland Games

The Amador County Fair Grounds is a great place to take in the Mother Lode Highland Games.  The grounds aren't large, so it was easy to get from venue to venue to watch various activities.  The VIP room was great and the ladies were wonderful in making sure we had plenty of food and drinks.  Bonus, the VIP room had their own set of restrooms.


My highlight of games was watching the caber toss.  The objective is to toss the caber so that it turns end over end, falling away from the tosser. Ideally it should fall directly away from the tosser in the "12 o'clock" position. The distance thrown is unimportant.

You can see the full set of photos in my NorCal Club Run - Hwy 49/Mother Lode Scottish Highland Games - June 10, 2017 Gallery.


Don't miss our next run to Madonna Inn.   Full details can be found here on the blog, Facebook or via your Google email invite.  Don't miss our first "a-MINI-ing Race".

Ready to motor on again,
Christine Toibin
President, NorCal MINIs 

 

Madonna Inn - San Luis Obispo Run Details


Don't miss our run to Madonna Inn, a landmark resort hotel on California's Central Coast, the weekend of July 22nd & 23rd.




SATURDAY - JULY 22, 2017


MEETING/DEPARTURE TIME:
8:30am/9:00am

Peets
755 Cochrane Rd #100,

Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Break-Stop
Starbucks
1301 Broadway St,
King City, CA 93930


Since the Mid-State Fair is going on in Paso Robles, we
taking a straight-shot down 101 for lunch.

ROUTE: 2 hours
https://goo.gl/maps/7rEWygCusLw

LUNCH: 11:00 am
Firestone Walker Brewery Company
Taproom Restaurant
1400 Ramada Dr, Paso Robles, CA 93446
(805) 225.5913

MENU:
http://www.firestonebeer.com/files/TR2_LunchMenu_9_27.pdf

Hopefully we’ll finish lunch around 12:30/1pm. From lunch we’ll take a drive out to visit James Dean Memorial at intersection of CA 41 & CA 46, a quick stop at B&E Vineyard, then some twisties along route CA 229 & CA 58 into Santa Margarita before arriving at Madonna Inn for the 4pm check-in time.


ROUTE: 2 hours
https://goo.gl/maps/fc2uC19Qvj12

Madonna Inn
100 Madonna Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
1-800-543-9666



It appears Madonna Inn is completely booked for July 22nd at this time.  If you didn't make your reservation, check their website for possible openings.


DINNER:
TBD

EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
Enjoy the Madonna Inn or come out for a movie at the drive-in

Sunset Drive-In
255 Elks Ln
San Luis Obispo, California

$9 (12 and up)
$4 (5-11)
Free 4 yrs. and under

SUNDAY - JULY 23, 2017

Enjoy your morning at the Madonna Inn.
Check-out time is: NOON (12:00pm)

BREAKFAST: on your own

Meet in the parking lot @ Noon, where you’ll be given the rules of the game, route clues and roadblocks for our own a-MINI-zing Race. The a-MINI-zing Race will take you to a few of the gems of San Luis Obispo that are not to be missed.

Once everyone arrives at the last location, we’ll head up to:
Estrella Warbirds Museum & Woodland Auto Display

4251 Dry Creek Road
Paso Robles, CA 93446

From there you’re on your own to do more exploring, lunch, wine tasting, etc. in Paso Robles or head on home.