June 6, 2008

Thomas Harold Riddle 1920 – 2008

Longtime Campbell resident Thomas Harold Riddle, 87, died on April 26, 2008 from prostate cancer. Riddle fought the seven month battle as fiercely as he served as a Marine at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan and Tinian in World War II.

Though Riddle was born in Washington, D. C., he grew up on a Waterford farm in the central valley. When he returned from the war, he attended San Jose State University where he met his wife, Loretta Mezza. They married in 1968 and had two children; Larry, who died in 2004, and Judy Riddle-Skintau. Riddle received a master’s degree from Stanford University.

He taught math and industrial arts for 50 years in Palo Alto. In 1973, he was awarded a California Outstanding Teacher of the Year in Industrial Arts Education.

Riddle was heavily involved in the local Democratic Party politics as was his wife. He was an elected member of the Santa Clara County Democratic State Central Committee. They were both honored this past April with the Don Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award by party leaders.

After retiring, Riddle taught robotics and industrial studies at San Jose State University’s Division of Technology. He served as both president and on the board of directors for the SJSU alumni association where a scholarship fund has been created in his memory. He was a Eucharistic minister in the Anglican Church and enjoyed traveling around the world.

Services were held June 1, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Santa Clara. Donations in his memory may be sent to San Jose State Alumni Association Student Scholarship Fund, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0126.