Husband, father, grandfather, professor, acclaimed author and editor

“There is a photo of Tom as a young boy, perhaps 11, sitting astride a large Arabian horse,” said his wife, Joyce. “He is brimming with confidence as he sits on the horse and gazes into the camera. When I met him, he already had a whole shelf full of ribbons and trophies that they had won in dressage. He was a remarkable rider.”

Born in 1936, Thomas Blackburn, age 87, died July 15, 2024, of cardiac arrest. “He was remarkable in many ways,” his family said. “Loving and supportive husband and father, Cal Poly Pomona professor of anthropology, acclaimed author and editor, he wore his honors lightly. At Mount San Antonio Gardens retirement center, he would tell his friends, ‘This is such an amazing place. There are so many interesting people here.’

“Tom found interesting people, places and things wherever he went. He had an insatiable curiosity.” The horses stayed behind when he enrolled at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. There he discovered an intellectual passion. “Before transferring to the University of Hawaii to major in anthropology and become an archeologist, Tom sealed another passion: he and Joyce, already friends for many years, married.”

After several years in Hawaii, they returned to the mainland for graduate studies at UCLA. “Tom became a poor graduate student, a poverty amplified by the arrival of two children, Lisa and Robert,” a close friend noted. “There was never enough money.” “We really struggled,” his wife recalled, “but we could also count our blessings: children, friends, stimulating studies, and especially each other.” His wife played folk guitar. They learned and sang all the folk songs of mid-century America. “Poor, yes. Happy, yes,” his family said.

Tom developed an interest in the anthropological evidence of the Chumash Indians of the central California coast. When Cal Poly, Pomona wanted to hire an anthropologist, he applied and got the job. He stayed at Cal Poly for 35 years. He loved teaching and the opportunities academia offered for research and writing.

He wrote and edited or co-edited numerous books, including “Native Californians: A Theoretical Retrospective” (1976); “December’s Child A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives” (1980); “The Eye of the Flute: Chumash Traditional History And Ritual” (1981); “The Material Culture of the Chumash Interaction Sphere” (five volumes, 1982); “Time’s Flotsam: Overseas Collections of California Indian Material Culture” (1990); “An Artist’s Portfolio: The California Sketches of Henry B. Brown, 1851-1852” (2006); and “Treasures from Native California: The Legacy of Russian Exploration” (2015).

His persistent efforts to identify foreign artifacts and records of the Chumash led him to more than 140 museums throughout Europe, Russia and elsewhere. Beginning his career as an archaeologist, he gradually shifted toward ethno-history, where he became one of the key scholars in California.

He also played a seminal role in seeing to publication the posthumous works of several colleagues. “With remarkable generosity, he encouraged and midwifed many publications of others,” his wife said. His death occurred at just the time his fellow scholars were preparing to publish in the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology a collection of essays paying tribute to his impact upon the profession and their lives, all of it done as an unpaid volunteer. Lynn Gamble wrote, “There are few individuals as generous, brilliant, and hard-working as Tom Blackburn. Tom is dedicated to California anthropology and for decades has provided support to many scholars in their research and writing, whether through keeping his colleagues apprised of the latest findings in anthropology or encouraging them to publish a paper that he heard delivered at a conference or talked about in passing.” Another colleague, John Johnson, noted that Blackburn became an editor for the Ballena Press Anthropological Papers back in the 1970s and served on the editorial board of Malki Museum Press since then. “Virtually every issue of the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology has had its articles improved by Tom’s editorial hand,” Johnson said. Gamble added, “I think he promoted many scholars over the decades by helping them write and publish their work. If there were only more Tom Blackburns in this world; he is a rare scholar in the academic world.”

“Tom and Joyce both loved to travel, especially camping trips when the children were small,” his family said. “We thrilled to river rafting through the Grand Canyon and outdoor activities in Denali Park.” In later years they enjoyed cruises, highlighted by trips to Europe and a Viking cruise on the Danube River, as well as travels to Mexico, Australia and New Zealand and frequent trips to Costa Rica.

The couple celebrated 68 years of marriage in January 2024.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughter Lisa and son-in-law Larry; son Bob; and grandson Brandon.

Lisa said, “My dad inspired my lifelong passions for both reading and riding. I try to approach my own life with the same curiosity and sense of adventure that he brought to every situation.”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better father,” Bob said. “He was a blessing in our lives.”

“Tom was a gentle man and a scholar, the guiding light of our family,” his wife said.

A memorial service is planned for later in the year.