Thomas L. Jenkins passed away at the age of 85, surrounded by family on January 1, 2025, in Mission Viejo, CA. Tom was a devoted and loving husband, father, family-member, friend and colleague who was deeply committed to his faith, career and community. He made major contributions to transit development and planning throughout his career, achieving a staggering 24 Records of Decision with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and overseeing projects in excess of $55 Billion throughout his career, which continued until his last week of life.
Known as Tom, he was born September 16, 1939, in Akron, Ohio to Thomas Emil and Bettie Linn (Hardy) Jenkins and grew up in Ohio and Southern California where he graduated from San Marino High School. He attended Pasadena City College followed by University of Kansas earning a Bachelor (1963) and Master Degree in Civil Engineering (1967).
In 1967, Tom married Judith Ahlborn Gripton in Iowa City, Iowa. They then resided in Chicago where Tom solidified his career in transportation engineering and planning at Deleuw Cather & Co. Soon after daughter Janet was born in 1969, they moved to Denver where Tom became the first transportation engineer and planner hired by the City of Denver. There, he brought the Denver Tramway Corporation into public ownership (before RTD was formed); developed the 16th St Transit Mall concept; prepared the first bikeway plan for the City and County; and started the implementation of the Cherry Creek Bikeway into downtown.
In 1971, the family moved to Mission Viejo, CA where son Thomas was born in 1972.
In 1974 Tom joined the Orange County Transit District as Director of Planning and Engineering and in 1977 was named the first Executive Director of the Orange County Transit Commission (now OCTA), charting the future for transit and transportation in Orange County for decades to come.
Starting in 1983, Tom left the public sector for roles at Parsons Brinckerhoff, Infraconsult, HDR and most recently as national transit and rail consultant vice president for HNTB where he was leading the planning and environmental analysis for LA Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor.
Tom spent more than 60 years developing transportation infrastructure projects for public agencies throughout the country and was an expert in securing FTA New Starts grant agreements to build transit systems. His greatest contributions were perhaps in Southern California where he played major roles in SANDAG’s Mid-Coast Rail Project, LA Metro’s Purple Line (Westside) Subway Extension, Gold Line Foothill Extension, Regional Connector Project, Crenshaw/LAX Project, Eastside LRT Phase I, Metro Red Line, Metro Blue Line, and Metro Green Line, as well as creating and expanding Foothill Transit. He was consultant project manager for the first LRTs in Dallas and Salt Lake City, the Las Vegas Resort Corridor BRT and monorail extension, as well as numerous highway corridor multimodal studies. Other places he enabled the construction of new transit lines include Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Denver, Tucson, New Orleans, and Honolulu. In 1988, Tom was project director for the first circulation plan in Mission Viejo, CA where he lived for over 50 years.
Tom was privately thrilled to receive in 2021 the Southern California Transportation Commission’s Mobility 21 Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing to mobility in Southern California, and in 2008 the Angel Award for Environmental Justice Service given by the East Los Angeles Community Youth Center (ELACPC) for his role in bringing rail transportation to East LA. Tom was also active in many professional organizations including the American Public Transportation Association, where he served as chair of the Policy and Planning Committee and was a member of many others.
Outside of his career, Tom loved his work on the Board of Counselors with the Pacific Symphony, attending many concerts and events throughout the year, and was active at Geneva Presbyterian Church in Laguna Woods where he served as a deacon and church elder. Despite his many obligations and passions, Tom always put his family first and never missed a recital, concert, soccer game, band competition or family event.
Tom is predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Judy, his mother &father Thomas Emil & Bettie, and his brother John David. His surviving family members include his daughter Janet Kathryn Jenkins and husband Peter S. Giakoumis, son Thomas David and wife Sarghy; step-grandson Andrew Giakoumis; sister-in-law Janet (Gripton) Hepp and husband Patrick Joseph and his dog, Katie.
To honor Tom, donations can be made in his name to the Pacific Symphony’s Youth Ensembles (PSYE) at www.PacificSymphony.org/support or to Women’s Transportation Seminar-LA Scholarship Fund: https://www.calfund.org/funds/wts/.