THOMAS E. VINES
Thomas E. Vines, Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired, died December 13, 2011, in Honolulu, HI. Memorial services will be at 2 p.m., December 21, 2011, at Pearl Harbor Naval Station Chapel. Inurnment at Punchbowl National Cemetery will be for family only. Chaplain John Brzek will officiate.
Captain Vines entered the Navy as a seaman apprentice during the latter stage of World War II and remained in the Navy after the war until retirement in Honolulu in 1976. He was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1950.
He served two tours of duty with the Seventh Fleet during the Korean War and again during the war in Vietnam in command of a destroyer. During the Vietnamese conflict, he also served in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on the Staff of Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command, and on General Westmoreland's staff in Saigon. As a young officer, he commanded a coastal minesweeper based in Charleston, SC and later commanded a landing ship tank, based in Norfolk, VA.
His nephew, Thomas Dion, Captain, US Navy, retired, and his grand-nephew, Jason Pawley, also were graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy. His nephew by marriage, Mike Pawley of Columbia, SC also served in the Navy and recently retired as a Commander.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Gloria Cozza Vines, parents, Thomas Jefferson and Lottie Koon Vines of Newberry, SC, and his sisters, Dorothy (Dot) Bodie, Newberry, SC, Ruth Dion, Aiken, SC and Frances Evelyn Vines, Columbia, SC.
He is survived by his five children, Victoria (Gary) Horikami, Mililani, HI, Kathleen (Richard) Whiteside, Gadsden, AL, David (Ikuko) Vines, Mililani, HI, Thomas Vines, Honolulu, HI and John (Laura) Vines, Kaneohe, HI, and his two granddaughters, Angela (Ted) Bankosh and Michele Horikami and great-grandchildren, Kapono and Ayvah Marie Bankosh, the delight of his life. He is also survived by his nieces, Debbie (Mike) Pawley, Columbia, SC, Sue (Steven) Yentsch, Lilburn, GA and Terry Moore, Anderson, SC, and nephews Thomas (Lisa) Dion, (RI) Steve (Lynn) Bodie (NC) and Randy (Diane) Bodie (IN), and a host of grand-nieces and grand-nephews. A special recognition to his niece Terry who lost her beloved husband, Chip, in December 2004 and to their daughter, Danielle.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Boy Scouts of America.
Honorary Pallbearers will be his nephews and great-grandson.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 2 p.m. prior to the funeral service.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased
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