Please Feel Free To Leave A Comment Or A Memory You Had With Tony~
ANTHONY (TONY) THOMAS
ADDISON
(1936 - 2009)
"Gentlemen and ladies, start your engines!"
"Miles to go before I sleep..." Anthony (Tony) Thomas Addison, 72, passed away at home on May 31, 2009, quietly in his sleep after a ten-month race to defeat unremitting esophageal cancer. A true race car and auto enthusiast who began working on engines before he could drive a car. Tony will always be appreciated for his automotive expertise, and his love of life.
Tony was born in Torrance, Ca. on August 23, 1936, the first child of Myrtis (Hollywood) and Thomas Addison (Leeds, England). He attended San Fernando High School, class of 1954. He served in the United States Air Force from 1953 to 1963 in Minnesota, Florida, Texas, Iceland, Korea, France, California and Alaska, where he was honorably discharged after receiving a good conduct medal with 3 loops, an Air Force Longevity medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, and a National Defense Service medal. He had auto shops in Alaska and Santa Barbara in the 1960's through the 1970's.
For over 55 years he was a specialist auto mechanic, retiring from his auto and boat repair businesses Addison Automotive and Marine Service and Addison Street Rod Transmissions in Arroyo Grande when he became too sick to work. Before that he traveled to all the major NASCAR races with his friend Bob Christianson. He loved to travel and go camping with his wife Alice.
He received Rookie of the Year Honors for his car at the Santa Maria Speedway in the late 1970's, was Arroyo Grande Optimist of the Year in the 1990's, and was recognized as second place with his brother David Addison for their 1970 Javelin AMX GT muscle car in the Invitational Concourse d'Elegance in Carmel in 2007. He was an active member on the BBQ team of the Arroyo Grande Optimist Club, the A.G. American Legion Post #136, The Paradise British Car Club, and a lifetime member of the South County Historical Society.
In 1972 he moved to Arroyo Grande to work as the Shop Foreman for Christianson Chevrolet. In 1973 he married his wife Alice Adams Addison, Ph.D., a teacher of French, Spanish and English as a second language at Santa Maria High School.
He is survived by his wife Alice of Arroyo Grande; his first wife Nancy Kidd Linn Abeyta of Moreno Valley; their son Thomas Linn of Laguna Niguel and his wife Kevil and their children, Trevor, Sean, and Christopher; his daughter Tamara Kerr and her husband Dave of Moreno Valley and their daughter Savannah of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; his mother Myrtis Addison of Camarillo; his brothers, David Addison and his wife Nancy of Arroyo Grande, Mike Addison and his wife Donna of Medford, Oregon; his sister Kathleen Addison of Rohnert Park; and numerous nephews, nieces, grand nephews, and grand nieces. Tony was preceded in death by his father Thomas Addison in 2003.
Tony thanks all his family and friends who have helped him this past year and wants them to celebrate life with a BBQ at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 27th, at the Arroyo Grande Association Hall, 707 Huasna Rd. Rather than flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice Partners of the Central Coast, 277 South Street, Suite R, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401, or Jacqualyn Palchak Cancer Fund, 921 Oak Park Blvd., Suite 100A, Pismo Beach, CA 93449, or the South County Historical Society, P.O. Box 633, Arroyo Grande, CA 93421.
RSS Feed