Thomas Ward Hauser

Thomas Ward Hauser: Born August 16, 1934 In Canyon City, Colorado. Died October 22, 2020, in Lawson, Colorado. Tom will be buried at the Dumont Cemetery in Dumont, Colorado.

He is preceded in death by both parents John and Ellen Hauser; wife Vivian Inez Hauser; daughter Pamela Bloss; Grandson Braxton Hauser; Brothers John, and Ted Hauser; Sisters Patsy Switzer and Geraldine Morgan.

John and Ellen Hauser had six kids together and Tom was the fourth out of the six children. Tom and his brothers Larry and Ted spent most of their childhood hanging out together. Three boys hanging out usually mean mischief. They enjoyed the type of childhood where the kids do their chores and then do not come home until dark. Larry talks about Tom driving the kids to school and Tom was probably 10 to 12 years old. Tom spent many summers with his Grandma Blanche Tablor and his uncle D taking care of sheep and cattle. Tom really enjoyed having his own horse to help them. Aunt Pat and Gerri would tease Tom about being their grandma's favorite. Tom would smile and say "yes, I was".

Tom married Vivian Inez Ladd on February 8, 1954. The date may not be accurate, but this is the date, they declared their love for one another and celebrated as their marriage date. They had seven children, Stephen, Pamela, Timothy, William, Ronald, Debra, and Cristine. They moved around eastern Colorado working on farms, in the steel mill and doing a variety of jobs. Six of the kids were born in Denver, eastern Colorado, and western Kansas. Cristine was the only child born in the mountains. They moved to the mountains in 1965 and lived in a few places around Clear Creek County until Tom build the house in Lawson. His family moved into the house in 1970. Tom and Vivian lived in the house until October of 1996 when they moved to Peoria Arizona, and then later settled in Dolan Springs Arizona. Vivian passed away in March of 2005 in Dolan Springs. Tom continued to live there and eventually, Pamela moved in with him and became his caregiver. When Pamela passed in May of 2020 Debbie moved Tom back to the house in Lawson Colorado until his death.

Tom had many different careers in his lifetime. He was a typesetter for a newspaper and farmer in his younger years. He joined the laborer's union and one of his jobs was building the Eisenhower tunnel. He could do any of the mining that needed to be done, like drilling and shooting. He then worked on the Johnson tunnel until it was finished. So, every time you go through the tunnels think Tom helped build these. He also worked in some of the smaller mines throughout Clear Creek County. Tom worked for a variety of construction companies and he was very precise in his work. He could level the ground perfectly and when they shot grade there would hardly be any extra work to finish leveling the ground. He could operate every type of heavy equipment. He was also a precise blaster. One time a company went to the company Tom was working for and contracted him to do some precise blasting. The company was excavating a basement in Evergreen and they came upon a large rock that needed to be blasted. The owner of the company wanted the pines trees to stay standing after the blast. So, they contracted Tom. Tom completed the shot and all the trees stayed intact and the rock became gravel. Tom drove a plow truck for a couple of winters for the state. He loved plowing highway 6 up and over the pass above Loveland Ski area. He took Vivian up there once to show her how high the snow was. Tom also worked at Rocky Flats as a laborer. He had a "Q" clearance so he could go anywhere on the plant, within reason. In his later years, he decided to start truck driving. He hauled anything that could be transported by truck over the road. He took a job hauling mail from Denver to Monticello Utah. He would then stay the night and bring a new truck back. Sometimes he would take his truck all the way to Phoenix, and when he was able to this, he would spend time with Cristine and her family. He was able to keep this job when they moved to Arizona because the truck, he would pick up in Monticello was from Phoenix, he just switched his starting point. Stephen was also working for the same company, but he continued to drive out of Denver. Tom and Stephen would meet in Monticello and spend the evening together. Tom stopped truck driving soon after Vivian passed away, and then soon after he stopped trucking, he was diagnosed with dementia.