Thomas Reid Saunders - Gordon & Alice Saunders' son

Thomas Reid Saunders was born on Sep 19th, 1950 in Taber, Alberta to Gordon and Alice Saunders. He is their second child and second son.

 Tom & Gord on the farm

Tom and Gord were always together either doing chores, planning adventures for their younger siblings, or  getting into mischief . Maybe all three at once.

Tom & Gord as cowboys

Tom went to Kinniburg School as well. It was a small country school where grades 1, 2, and 3 were together in one class and grades 4, 5, and 6 were in the other class. They had lots of fun and chores to do on the farm such as tending the cattle and planting and harvesting the crops.

Tom also graduated from W R Myers High School in Taber and went to Rick's College with Gord for one semester, from Sep to Dec 1969.

He went to the California East Mission on Jan 6, 1970. He was there for an earthquake that shook the books off the shelf above his bed. He loved his mission and had a great time working with the people there. He is still in contact with some of his companions and friends from that time period.

 Elder Tom Saunders and his bike, favorite mode of transportation.

 Elder George Mitchell and Elder Tom Saunders in Rialto, CA

Upon his return in  January of 1972 he worked at the Sugar Factory with Uncle Gordie Laurie. He got engaged to Wendy Wood. They had dated each other in High School and got reacquainted after his mission.

Tom married Wendy Marie Wood on the June 17th, 1972 in Cardston, Alberta.






They lived in Taber while all their kids were born. They have five kids:
Jessica Ann Saunders Burton,
David Thomas Saunders,
Charles Wood Saunders,
Nena Marie Saunders Scott,
Stacey Saunders Salmon.

 During the arrival of his children Tom became a stock broker and then worked in Lethbridge followed by a move to Cranbrook, BC.

Back l-r: Dave, Tom, Wendy, Jessica

Front l-r: Chuck, Stacey, and Nena

Cranbrook, BC

While they were living in Cranbrook their home burned down during the holidays in December of 1986. They lived in a motel until the company moved them to Calgary where they have lived ever since. Tom has had other very successful jobs since then. He and Wendy now have 17 grandchildren and are enjoying time spent with them.



In October of 2013 Tom and Wendy received a mission call to go to the India New Delhi mission to serve the people there. Months later their call was changed to the Samoa Apia Mission because they were unable to get visa's to India. They will leave for their mission to Samoa on Jun 9th, 2014.