Services will be held Saturday for Oakland Chinese-American pioneer and World War II veteran Arthur Tom.

Tom, the first ethnic Chinese employee of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, died March 2. He was 93.

Tom started at the DMV as a temporary worker in 1935 and ended up staying until his retirement in 1972. During his 37-year tenure, he managed the Oakland and San Leandro DMV offices and helped standardize driver's license tests and photographs.

Tom was born in Oakland's Chinatown in 1912, went to Lincoln Elementary and Oakland High and also attended Chinese school in Oakland.

Tom lived by himself in a house he built in the Oakland hills, nephew Richard Chinn said.

Chinn said his uncle was involved in helping people and belonged to several clubs.

"He was a very social person. He liked traveling. He traveled very often and valued his friends very highly."

Tom was a World War II Army Air Force veteran, a member of the California State Employees Association since 1935, president of the Chinese Acacia Masonic Club, member of the Wah Ying Social Club and many other community organizations.Tom was interviewed in 2004 for "Reclaimed Stories: Oakland Chinatown," an oral history project.

In the interview, Tom said his mother, Emma Hoo Tom, also made history: She and Clara Lee were the first Chinese-American women to register to vote in the United States. Both women were from Oakland.

Tom had no children. Gladys Tom, his wife of 62 years, preceded him in death. He is survived by cousins, nieces and nephews.

Services for Tom will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Chapel of the Chimes, Julia Morgan Chapel, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in his memory to a favorite charity.

To read an interview with Arthur Tom, visit www.oaklandchinatownhistory.org.