SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Dr. Thomas Alfred Redden passed away July 21, 2012 in Santa Monica, Calif., after a long illness.
He was born in Pine Bluff, Ark., October 18, 1922 to Iva Belle Roberson and Tom Alvin Redden. He attended school in Pine Bluff, graduating from Pine Bluff High School in 1941. While in high school he served as the first governor of Arkansas Boys State.
During World War II he served as a Marine Pilot in the Pacific, receiving medical retirement from the Marines. He attended and graduated from Occidental College and from the University of Southern California as an Orthopedic Surgeon. He practiced at Children’s Orthopedic Hospital in Los Angeles and in private practice in Beverly Hills, Calif., until his retirement in 1984. He remained a trustee and on the advisory board at St. John’s Hospital after retirement.
He is preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Amanda Nelle Odom. Surviving are his wife Betty and three sons, John (Margo), James and Thomas Redden of California, one grandson, Benjamin Redden of San Francisco, a brother, John Yates Redden (Lougene) of Cordova, Tenn., and one sister, Ann Redden Adair of Pine Bluff, Ark.
His main loves besides family and medicine were the sea and sailing. Following his cremation, a military funeral will be held at a later date at which time, the United States Coast Guard will scatter his ashes at sea.