Tommie Tindell, longtime Othello volunteer, dies at 81

OTHELLO - When Tommie Tindell's family returned home from the hospital after he passed away, the flag outside the Tindell home had been lowered to half-staff, the lawn was mowed, the deck washed, the ripe fruit picked from the cherry and apricot trees.

Tindell's son Tom Jr. said he thought that was a good indication of the way Othello residents regarded his 81-year-old father, a longtime resident and active volunteer, who died July 4.

And that was appropriate, according to people who knew Tindell. "If Tommie could've picked a day to die, he would've died on the Fourth of July," said Bill Wood, of Brewster, a longtime associate of Tindell through their membership in the Masons.

Tindell was known in town for his encyclopedic knowledge of the American flag and the history and etiquette surrounding it. He painted his old truck red, white and blue to proclaim his affection for his country and its flag.

"You didn't see Tommie Tindell without some display of the American flag," said Ehman Sheldon, Othello city administrator. Practically every shirt he owned had an American flag on it somehow, somewhere, Sheldon said.

Everyone in Othello knew Tindell for his support of his country and the military and those really mattered to him, his son said.  But that was only part of his commitment to his community - Tindell was a Boy Scout leader, belonged to the Masons and the Othello VFW Post, the Othello Senior Center and the First Presbyterian Church. He grew produce in his garden and donated it to neighbors and people in the community. "That's the thing Dad instilled in us. Service," Tom Jr. said.

Tindell joined the United States Army Air Corp in 1947, now the Air Force. He served for 20 years as a radar systems operator and four times at the Othello Radar Base, according to his obituary.

He was one of the volunteers who helped bring the 87 Forgotten Heroes Memorial to Moses Lake, which was dedicated last month at Grant County International Airport.

The memorial honors 87 military personnel who died in a C-124 A Globemaster flying to Texas during the Christmas holiday.

An Air Force member at the time, Tindell was going to take the flight, but his wife convinced him not to. The decision likely saved his life.  "We were engaged at the time and she pried me out of it," Tindell told the Columbia Basin Herald during a September interview. "She just had the feeling if I went on the plane, she would never see me again. She was so emphatic about it, I decided not to go."

Recently, the day before the accident that triggered Tindell's final illness he was out in the garden with the kids from next door, showing them how to pick apricots, Tom Jr. said. "He loved doing that. Teaching and leading by example," he said.

Wood remembered a picnic the Masons used to have, and one of the sons of a fellow Mason who had Down's Syndrome. "They had a special bond," Wood remembered. "That was the kind of guy he was."

Eric Morgan worked with Tindell at VFW Post No. 8889, and was a longtime friend. Tindell volunteered for just about any organization designed to help veterans, Morgan said.

"He led a lot more by example than telling you," Tom Jr. said. Tommie was not afraid to speak his mind to anyone, his son said, no matter their rank or position. "He was just pretty much a straight shooter kind of person."

"He was the just one of those brothers who live respected and die regretted," Wood said. "Tommie Tindell was one of the good guys."