EDMONDS — It starts off like a beautiful love story.
Tom and Linda Breiwick met in the third grade at Ronald Elementary School in Shoreline.
In a twist of fate, 43 years later they were married.
But four years after that, the love story turned tragic. Tom Breiwick, 56, was killed on a business trip to New Orleans.
A marine engineer and owner of Pacific Marine Equipment of Ballard, he had gone to the International WorkBoat Show in December.
On Dec. 2, he went out with some friends for dinner and music and spoke to his wife on his cellphone several times that night. Then, just before 11 p.m., a block from his hotel, he was bludgeoned in an apparent attempted robbery.
He died instantly of blunt force to his head, according to the Orleans Parish coroner’s office.
Officials got Linda Breiwick out of a class she teaches at Shoreline Community College to tell her the news.
"I had talked to him three times that evening," she said, "before he went to dinner, at dinner and in the music club before he went home, and we always ended our conversations with, ‘I love you.’
"I was in complete shock."
Three days later, police arrested Lester "Shorty" Harris, 33, who had been found with Breiwick’s wallet and cellphone, on suspicion of murder and possession of stolen property. However, citing lack of physical evidence or witnesses, prosecutors refused to charge Harris with murder within 90 days, and he was released to house arrest on Feb. 6 after posting $5,000 bail.
"It upset me," Linda Breiwick said of Harris’ release.
"My husband was followed and viciously attacked, and that man has quite a criminal history — he’s a violent criminal and needs to be taken off the street."
Last week, Harris was jailed again and his bond raised to $75,000 after prosecutors called him a flight risk, citing his criminal record and convictions for a drug offense and escape.
Harris was arrested in 2002 in connection with the beating and robbery of another tourist, who left town without pressing charges. But the tourist has agreed to cooperate in this case, Breiwick said.
More charges could be filed against Harris this week, prosecutors said.
"I’m very glad he’s back in jail. He’s a very dangerous man who preys on tourists," Linda Breiwick said of Harris, adding she has not decided if she’s going to New Orleans if there’s a trial.
Tom Breiwick was a pillar in the maritime community, said Todd Terry, his partner and sole employee at Pacific Marine Equipment.
He was involved in the Ballard Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president for a year, and was well-known in the tight-knit Norwegian community in Ballard. More than 500 people attended his memorial service at the Ballard Elks Club on Dec. 11.
"His grandfather immigrated here from Norway and started the well-known marine company Kolstrand," Linda Breiwick said. "His mother is a German immigrant, so he just grew up with a very strong work ethic, and that’s what made Tom such a wonderful man. He’s very giving and would work hard to help anybody."
His death sent ripples through the community, Terry said.
"It’s been devastating, a shock, especially for this two-man company," he said, adding he can only guess what happened that night.
"He was a pretty savvy guy, a well-seasoned world traveler, he wasn’t a naive tourist," Terry said of Breiwick. "He must have been taken completely by surprise."
Breiwick was key in helping start a memorial for families who had lost loved ones at sea, said Jim McManus, chairman of the Seattle Fisherman’s Memorial. Breiwick helped select the artist who designed the monument and himself designed the foundation that fortifies it from the elements.
"The artist said it best at Tom’s memorial: When you look at the monument, Tom’s in the heart of it because he designed the structure that holds it," McManus said.
Friends describe Breiwick as kind and generous.
"He was effervescent, just a wonderful person to work with," said Doug Dixon, who knew Breiwick for more than 20 years through the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. "It’s a huge loss for this close-knit community."
Linda Breiwick said she and her husband met in the third grade and got reacquainted after their 20-year Shoreline High School reunion.
"We started going out in 1988 and married in 1999. Although we were only married for four years, we really have been together for much longer," she said.
They enjoyed gardening, and her husband built a greenhouse and garden in the family’s backyard in Edmonds.
"He also had just bought a tugboat as a personal pleasure boat for us, and the weekend before he left we had a nice boat trip together bringing it down from Anacortes through the (Hiram M. Chittenden) locks.
"I’ve got a lot of good memories to keep me going," she said.
Reporter Pam Brice: 425-339-3439 or pbrice@heraldnet.com.
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