Ralph M. Toms

Ralph Marvin Toms of Tracy died Jan. 27. He was 78.

Toms was born on July 23, 1935 to the late Leon and Mary Toms. He graduated from Anderson High school in 1953 and received a doctorate in mathematics in 1973. He was married to his wife Gwendolyn on Nov. 29, 1957 and they spent 56 years together.

Toms worked on both public and classified works for Boeing, General Electric, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, SRI International and others. His passion was reducing complex mathematical functions to simple and efficient solutions. He held several patents and published academic papers from the 1960s until the 2000s.

A child of the depression, he also grew large gardens, hunted, fished and could fix most things with a piece of wire and tape.

Toms is survived by his wife, Gwendolyn; children, Andrew, Alice, Mary, Jenny and Danny; grandchildren, Shariann, Spencer and Katelin; and great granddaughter Angeleve.

A viewing will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at St. Anne Mission, 2nd. and Main Sts., Cottonwood, Calif. Funeral mass begins at 11 a.m., followed by a burial at Cottonwood Cemetery. A gathering will be held from noon-3:30 p.m. at the Cottonwood Community Center, 20595 Gas Point Rd., Cottonwood, Calif.