Former Mountain resident Thomas B. Teven passed on May 4.

Tom was a traveler of the world with a golden voice, a tender heart and a sharp wit. And when this newspaper was very young, he worked alongside this writer as editor and publisher of The Mountain Times, a talented journalist and newspaperman. He was always his own man, always true to himself. He will be missed.

Tom was born in the former coal mining village of Fauldhouse, West Lothian,
Scotland on Aug. 22, 1947 to John and Winifred (Bramwell) Teven. In
Scotland he was known as Tommy, and at the age of 15 he started work as a
tile layer. He had an unfortunate accident during this time in which he lost an
eye. Undaunted, he continued to work at a variety of jobs, and he met and
married Elizabeth, a local girl.

But Tom’s passion was music. He taught himself to play the guitar and the
drums, eventually forming a duo with his younger 14-year-old sister Betty
called The Carltons. The two worked the Scottish circuit, often with nationally
known acts. In 1970 the duo split and Tom went solo.

Tom migrated to the big city, Edinburgh, and joined a very active music
scene, often performing seven days a week, several shows a day. Music was
hot and he was a popular act. He worked alongside the likes of Billy Connolly
during those years and many other nationally known artists. But his marriage
couldn’t withstand the stress. Tom and Elizabeth divorced. He met and
married a young woman from Edinburgh called Irene.

In 1974 Tom and Irene moved to the south of Spain. Tom became the house
act in a Costa Brava nightclub. The Franco regime was in power. It was a
scary time and Tom told stories of threatening and aggressive soldiers. But
the beaches were beautiful, the wine was delightful and he thoroughly
enjoyed the food.

Tom and Irene met some German residents in one of the clubs and were
invited to visit Germany, so they were off again. By this time, Irene had
become part of the show as a backup singer. They performed together in
Germany for more than 15 years. Again, a heavy performing schedule wore
on the marriage and Tom and Irene divorced.

About this time, this writer came on the scene. I was backpacking in Scotland
and had been performing in Edinburgh for some time when I met Tom who
was on tour in his home country. Our initial introduction was interesting and
we didn’t exactly hit it off, but I was invited to come to Germany to see if we
could put something together musically. So, I moved to Germany, and we
began touring together. Within a year we were dating. Shortly thereafter we
flew back to Sandy to be married.

We toured Europe for several years and then moved back to Oregon in the fall
of 1986. Our tours in the U.S. took us to the Southwest. Tom loved the warm
climate, enjoyed the desert. We wintered there for five years, playing in a pub
in North Phoenix called the Dubliner. It was a wonderful time, large crowds,
fun music. We made many life-long friends there. When the owner decided to
sell the club, we came back to the Northwest.

Tom and I soon bought the fledgling Mountain Times newspaper. We
published the paper for seven years. Toward the end of that time, Tom and I
divorced, but our friendship remained. We continued to play through the
divorce. It was an honor to perform with Tom. Other musicians worked with
us over the years. The performances at Kells in Portland, Edgefield concerts,
City of Portland concerts and regional highland games were such a joy. I feel
honored to be one of the many who worked with Tom. He was an
extraordinary talent with a voice that was larger than life.

After selling the paper, Tom bought property to the other side of Mount Hood,
just outside The Dalles. He suffered a house fire during the move-in and with
the kindness of friends the house was rebuilt.

In November of 2012, he made his way back down to the southwest in what
turned out to be his final tour, landing in Yuma, Arizona. He quickly developed
a large following. He loved his home there, living as he had always done, on
his own terms.

Outside of the music and other creative endeavors, Tom liked to hunt and
shoot. He learned to stalk game in his native Scotland. Despite having only
one eye, he was a deadly shot. He was also quite partial to a wee pint of
Guinness. Tom was especially close to his youngest sister Betty and her
husband Dave who visited Oregon several times.

A wake was held in Phoenix, fittingly at the Dubliner Pub, on May 18. A
celebration of life is being planned for what would have been his 67th
birthday, sometime around August 22. It will likely be an event filled with
music, just as he would want it to be.

Tom is survived by his sisters Elizabeth (Betty), Sarah (Sadie) and Winifred,
and by many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, and
his sister Ann and brother James.