Thomas Edward Dahl, 76, passed away in peace in Temecula, California on May 14, 2026 after a long battle with multiple health afflictions that claimed both his mind and eventually his body.

Born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, Tom spent the majority of his life in California where he built his career and his family. After his early years and schooling in Eagle Rock by Glendale, Tom landed a position at the legendary Capitol Records that would change his entire life. What followed was a lifetime of incredible achievement and nomination in the art of post production sound/ re-recording mixing in filmmaking…achievements that even awarded him an Oscar nomination from the Academy in 1986 for “The Witches of Eastwick”, as well as a giant list of other credits as he worked on so many amazing films over time. He spent the better part of 40 years maintaining and updating his craft, working for Warner Bros. and Disney Studios, and his accomplishments were of great pride his loved ones. What is incredible is that Tom was self taught, self motivated, and all of his hard work and adaptation to every changing technology allowed him to stay in a fluctuating industry for so long. Tom was a creative brain, yet also meticulous about everything. He had an extreme patient energy that made the way he did things in his life so wonderfully particular. Earlier in life he was known for his geometric artworks working with shapes and sometimes even renditions of cars (actually he could draw anything freehand) and later in life his ability to maneuver sound and audio into films of all kinds. Tom was an engineer, who had talents beyond any formal education he might have had. He was truly a unique and beautiful mind.

Tom had a deep love for his family, for his dogs and of course for the yummiest things to eat in life. He used to love movies, going to the beach to ride bikes, attending Renaissance faires and Disneyland trips with his family. In later years he enjoyed a more quiet life, he loved being in his home around his dogs…there were always many in his house at one time. Tom also had a passion for culinary goodies…he very much enjoyed eating a delicious plate of Mexican food, In-n-out burgers, anything that his loving wife Christy made over the years, his son Cody’s epic bbq or going on Benihana’s trips with his daughter Meghan… and of course carrot cake. Always carrot cake, perhaps occasionally followed by a good glass of red wine. Tom was a good good man. A man of decency and of heart, a man of faith. He loved the Lord. Trustworthy, honest, genuine and so love able is what his loved ones would describe him as. He had an infectious laugh, and a fantastic personality and sense of humor. In his earlier days he was a master at fixing things, a guru of LA traffic, an engineer with patience and self taught know how to do anything. He had an incredible love for animals, mainly dogs, and spent his days amongst his many fur children (Lil’ Dog, Cody, Sadie, Teddy 1&2, Oliver and Bandit just to name a few). He was proceeded in death by his father Bob Dahl and his mother Jo Dahl, with whom he was able to spend her later years with, taking care of her until her own passing. He shared the earlier portions of his life with Brigitte, Meghan’s mother, and Diane. But he is survived by his beautifully loving wife Christy of 20 years (his dream girl since the day they met in the 70s back at Capitol Records), his daughter Meghan who adored him and idolized him more than he could ever have known, his son Cody whom he was so very proud of and his beautiful family Ashley, Charlotte and Emery, his other daughter Natasha and her family, Mike, Makayla and Michael, and finally of course Christina and her children Hanna and Nathan. He was always very proud of his grandchildren and loved watching them grow and succeed in all the things they did in earlier years…they’ve all turned out to be so wonderful. Tom also has beloved cousins that he held special memories in his heart with, Rachel, Jayne and Gretchen just to name a few. Aside from family, Tom had a great deal of colleagues, friends from church, friends from the industry and times past and a really wonderful group of neighbor friends that he loved and cared about a great deal. This is a true heartbreaking loss for us all.

As of now, and based on Tom’s voiced wishes, there are not immediate plans for a service but friends and loved ones will be notified as time progresses and his family decides how to properly celebrate him. We ask now, that everyone holds a special place in their hearts for Thomas. That we remember him when he was physically and mentally strong and when his medical issues didn’t corrupt his entire life. He was truly loved and also loved so fiercely, and we will remember him just for that, for being the wonderful man, father, friend and dog dad that he truly was. That’s how we will always celebrate his life.