Bike builder killed in helicopter crash 'helped everybody'
By BRAD WONG
P-I REPORTER
Seattle native Russ Tom was known for his mean Harleys and earned a reputation as an innovative custom-motorcycle designer. His sleek, polished bikes with oversized parts went to customers nationwide.
But Rick Tom, his brother, wants Seattle-area residents to know that the 46-year-old, who died after a helicopter crash Sunday, was a "good Christian."
He remembered others and raised money for charities, including Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, his brother said.
A day after his Robinson R44 helicopter crashed into Lake Tapps, family and friends mourned the former owner of the Harley-Davidson shops in Tukwila and downtown Seattle.
Witnesses on Sunday said they heard a bang, and the aircraft dropped into the lake. Tom's passenger, a 37-year-old woman, survived.
Investigators worked Monday to pull the wreckage from the lake so they could determine what caused the crash.
Yesterday, Russ Tom's friends and former customers streamed into the Tukwila motorcycle shop to pay their respects at a small memorial there. Others phoned and sent e-mails.
"He just helped everybody," Rick Tom said.
Terry Stallcop, now an owner and general manager of those Harley shops, called him one of the best custom-bike builders in the country. "Everyone is very shocked and sad," he said.
Born Aug. 18, 1960, Russ Tom entered the motorcycle business at his family's Seattle home in Rainier Valley.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Way, his father -- Carmen Tom -- started fixing up bikes. He began selling them in front of the house, and the business started in 1958.
It did so well -- selling brands such as Triumph, Vespa, Suzuki and Harley-Davidson -- that the family tore the house down to build a larger structure.
From kindergarten through high school, Russ Tom attended Seattle Christian Schools. There, his knack for design accelerated.
"He was a natural," his brother said. "He was a real perfectionist and wanted something different."
By the 1990s, he had taken over his father's motorcycle-shop business.
He was instrumental in opening the company's First Avenue location downtown, which focuses on Harley clothing and accessories. The Tukwila shop carries bikes.
On his Web site for his online motorcycle magazine, Sound RIDER!, publisher Tom Mehren wrote that Russ Tom helped develop a distinctive "coffin"-style gas tank.
One of his first creations was based on a 1972 Honda CB750. He also created custom bikes with names such as "Mean Streak" and "Beluga," Mehren said.
"They weren't retro-Gothic stuff," he said. "His work was very innovative and futuristic. That's not something you see a lot in the custom-bike world."
In April, he sold the motorcycle-shop business to pursue other interests.
In recent months, he focused on real estate development. He had bought 800 acres near Mount Rainier and wanted to subdivide the land to build homes.
"He loved anything -- motorcycles, cars, planes, boats," Rick Tom said. "He loved it all."
He is survived by his father Carmen Tom, 80, and his mother, Donna Tom, 76. Both live in Maple Valley.
He has two daughters, Emily and Alexandra, and three brothers, Rick, John and Mike.
A service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Puyallup Church of the Nazarene, 1026 Seventh Ave. S.W., Puyallup.
The family asks that any donations be made to Seattle Christian Schools, 18301 Military Road S., SeaTac, 98188, or Boyer Children's Clinic, 1850 Boyer Ave. E., Seattle, 98112.
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