In Memoriam – TLCC Memorial Page
Ron Ahre
October 30, 1946 — October 18, 2025 — Obituary
Ron Ahre – The TLCC is sad to announce that Ron Ahre, past president and former ANA club representative, passed away on October 18, 2025, at home. According to President Todd Hughes, “Ron had a great sense of humor, loved his roadkill coins (and was also a serious collector of quality U.S. type coins), always had great words to speak and loved paying the hobby forward by teaching about coins to his students (as a sixth-grade teacher in Puyallup, Wash.).” Ron was TLCC president in 1987 and 1988 and was appointed as the club’s ANA rep in 2003. The photo of Ron and his wife Joan was taken at the club’s 2005 holiday dinner for board members.
Norm Mikat
— May 12, 2020
Norm Mikat – TLCC past president and life member Norm Mikat was instrumental in assembling collections of TLCC, TCC and LCCC related memorabilia, both for the club’s own collection and for Norm’s personal collection (which was sold). See the TLCC memorabilia catalog (includes a photo of Norm speaking about the club’s history and memorabilia collection at the May 7, 2002, TLCC regular meeting). The photo at left, taken at the 2004 holiday banquet, shows Norm and his partner Barb.
Larry King
Apr. 4, 1944 — Oct. 19, 2020
Larry King was a vital part of the TLCC for decades, serving on the board and in other capacities including raffle chairman and coin show setup. The photo at right, taken at the 2004 holiday banquet, shows Larry and his partner Maxine Gruber, who remained an active part of the club.
Others (recent)
Bob Fosmire (October 23, 1934 — May 3, 2025)
According to Todd, “He was a good man and always had something different to share during S&T. He was a great family man, loved his 57 Chevy Belair, liked collecting coins and other things, and was always there to lend a helping hand. Bob was also a Master Sargeant in the U.S. Army.”
Tim Gary (February 10, 1943 — January 15, 2025)
Tim’s long life included service in the U.S. Navy and Army Reserves. According to Todd Hughes, “He was more a life force than his size indicated.”
Ray Kelley (September 12, 1951 — October 8, 2024)
Ray was a veteran of the Navy and was stationed on a munitions ship and an oiler throughout his career. He served during the Vietnam War. He was a TLCC board member and became the secretary after Todd Hughes became the president. He was quiet but knew everyone’s name.
Francis Maloney, Jr. (March 20, 1944 — March 14, 2021)
Francis worked as an entomologist for the U.S. Army for over 40 years at Fitzsimons Army Base in Colorado, and later at Fort Lewis in Washington state. He was an avid coin collector and genealogist, and a valued member of the TLCC for many years.
Dean Gelbert (November 27, 1940 — February 1, 2021)
Dean loved Canadian money and was a dearth of knowledge about it.
Others (older)
Don Spencer (August 20, 2009) — Obituary
Don was a longtime coin club member.
Laura Enearl (April 2002)
She joined the Tacoma coin club on Sep. 11, 1957 as Charter Member number 3. Laura was the wife of the first President of TCC and filled in many times as secretary over the years. Also see the memorabilia catalog biography page.
Byron “Jack” Frost (1990)
He joined the Tacoma coin club on Oct. 23, 1959 as member number 89, and the Lakewood Center coin club on Aug. 8, 1963 as Charter Member number 9. When the two clubs merged, he was awarded Life Membership number 1 and served on the Board until his death in 1990. He was always willing to help wherever he could. Also see the memorabilia catalog biography page.
