Tom, was a very cool kid. I met him when he and my sister, Susan dated as teenagers. I remember that Tom had dismantled an old (gold?) car in his parent's garage. I'm not car savvy, and don't remember the make and model? After Susan and Tom broke up, he and I remained friends. At one point, when we were around 17, Tom, Dean Thomas and decided that we wanted to see the ocean, explore California and live there. Of course, the next logical step, was for the three of us to "run away" to California! We set a date, packed our belongings, and the night before we were to leave, Tom got into trouble. Our trip was cancelled, and the three of us dodged a life-changing bullet. Years later, after being enlightened about what happened to teenage runaways, courtesy of Phil Donahue, Lifetime movies, and Soul Asylum's, "Runaway Train", I realized what could have happened to those three naive kids from Tulsa, who thought they were so savvy and wise to the world. Years later, Tom and I, along with our two families got together. I don't recall if we talked about "That time we almost ran away to California"! This is a memory that makes me both smile, and shake my head at the same time. Good times!
I was married to Tom for only a year but long enough to have our beautiful daughter, Kaycie.
Tom was an Oil Surveyor for many years. He developed diabetes when he was in his late twenties. Our daughter also developed it and together they both worked very hard to keep their diseases under control. Unfortunately, last year he suffered a heart attack after having diabetes ketoacidosis and sadly, he passed away.
Tom was a bit of free spirit. He had a great heart and he was a hard worker. He remarried and lived in Edmond before he passed away. He loved our daughter and was also blessed to share our granddaughter. He is missed and will never be forgotten.
Karen Ritchie (Lueck)
Tom, was a very cool kid. I met him when he and my sister, Susan dated as teenagers. I remember that Tom had dismantled an old (gold?) car in his parent's garage. I'm not car savvy, and don't remember the make and model? After Susan and Tom broke up, he and I remained friends. At one point, when we were around 17, Tom, Dean Thomas and decided that we wanted to see the ocean, explore California and live there. Of course, the next logical step, was for the three of us to "run away" to California! We set a date, packed our belongings, and the night before we were to leave, Tom got into trouble. Our trip was cancelled, and the three of us dodged a life-changing bullet. Years later, after being enlightened about what happened to teenage runaways, courtesy of Phil Donahue, Lifetime movies, and Soul Asylum's, "Runaway Train", I realized what could have happened to those three naive kids from Tulsa, who thought they were so savvy and wise to the world. Years later, Tom and I, along with our two families got together. I don't recall if we talked about "That time we almost ran away to California"! This is a memory that makes me both smile, and shake my head at the same time. Good times!
Christy Hooper
I was married to Tom for only a year but long enough to have our beautiful daughter, Kaycie.
Tom was an Oil Surveyor for many years. He developed diabetes when he was in his late twenties. Our daughter also developed it and together they both worked very hard to keep their diseases under control. Unfortunately, last year he suffered a heart attack after having diabetes ketoacidosis and sadly, he passed away.
Tom was a bit of free spirit. He had a great heart and he was a hard worker. He remarried and lived in Edmond before he passed away. He loved our daughter and was also blessed to share our granddaughter. He is missed and will never be forgotten.
Christy Hooper