Thomas George Kankiewicz. –Born Dec. 17, 1944, in Cleveland, Ohio, Thomas Kankiewicz was a first-generation American of Polish descent. He served in the US Navy from 1962 to 1968, where he was trained as an Electronics Technician serving on submarines and ships. He later became a Corpsman and served in Vietnam, receiving the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. He loved God and country. He attended Pierce College in the San Fernando Valley, Calif, where he met and married the love of his life, Debra. He then worked at Vandenburg Air Force Base, moving his family to the Central Coast of California and achieving his college degree in business management. He worked in software development and configuration management in the military and aerospace industry, working on rocket launches and Space Shuttle software programs while serving God and Country. He loved spending time at the ocean, camping, gardening, and hands-on repairs.