OBITUARY:Montrose loses founding father

Montrose Shopping Park lost one of its founding fathers this month when Thomas Joseph Jeffers Jr. died July 5 of a heart attack. He was 78.

Jeffers was one of five businessmen in Montrose who took part in the development of the outdoor shopping mall.

"Tom is a piece of local Montrose history," said City Councilman John Drayman, past president of the Montrose Shopping Park Assn. "He is probably the last direct connection to the original founders of the town, so to speak."

Using their own money, the men traveled to several locations to see how other towns had built shopping malls.

They visited Grand Junction, Colo., and were impressed with the town's layout, said his wife, Eva Jeffers. They took their ideas back to Montrose and began developing the shopping park into what it is today.

Thomas Jeffers was also a lawyer and had his law offices in Montrose for 53 years. He owned the first business in the Montrose Shopping Park — the property that housed the former Travel Corner travel agency, which today is Slender Sweet Shoppe, Drayman said.

"Tom was one of those property owners who didn't draw a lot of attention to himself," Drayman said. "He had a good relationship with all of his tenants."

He later bought several businesses on the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue and one on the 3000 block, which the family still owns, Eva Jeffers said. They own El Charro Restaurant, Tony's Barbershop, Andersen's Pet Shop, Frank's Shoe Repair, Images Salon and Paradise Tan, she said.

"We were together, like 24 hours a day," she said. "We worked together and lived together."

Aside from doing business in Montrose, the Jefferses also hosted numerous community events at their La Cañada Flintridge home.

Tom Jeffers was part of several service organizations, including the Kiwanis Club of Montrose, Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, Glendale Junior Chamber of Commerce and Crescenta Valley Red Cross.

"He was generous to everyone," Eva Jeffers said. "He was very generous, and he tried to give something back to others."

Thomas Jeffers was born on Dec. 8, 1929, in Oxnard, Calif., and was raised in La Cañada Flintridge.

His grandparents came to Montrose in the early 1900s.

He attended La Cañada Grammar School, Loyola High School, Loyola University and Loyola Law School.

He is survived by his wife, Eva; son, Tom III; daughter, Nancy; stepson, Peter; granddaughter, Mary; grandson, William; brother, Steve; and sister, Virginia.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary; sister, Nancy; mother, Gladys; and father, Thomas Sr.

A funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Bede The Venerable Church, 215 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada Flintridge.

Donations may be made to Loyola High School, 1901 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90006 or to The Terry Anderson Talk Show, 3940 Laurel Canyon Blvd., No. 643, Studio City, CA 91604.