Thomas Lee Bockbrader

Thomas Lee Bockbrader, 85 of Elmore, died at home in the early morning hours of July 28 in the presence of his wife, Mickey, and their children.  Born on September 11, 1931, to parents Henry and Dora Bockbrader, Tom was the youngest of ten children.  Growing up in Pemberville and nearby New Rochester, he graduated from Pemberville High School in 1949 before attending Davis Business College.

In 1952, he wed Mary, better known to most as Mickey, his wife of 65 years.  He proudly served in the United States Navy for two years (1953-1954) before returning home to work on the farm.  Also during that time period, he labored alongside two of his brothers, Wayne and Clayton, to make a success of their trucking company.

Together, Tom and Mickey raised four children - Mark, Scott, Julie (Hemminger) and Paul.  Tom went on to work at Sun Oil Refinery in Oregon, largely in the fire house for over 20 years prior to retiring in 1990.  After over 40 years at the farm on Elliston Trowbridge Road, Tom and Mickey largely turned over the farm to their sons and moved to their home just outside of Elmore.

He served as the commander of the Elmore American Legion, Post 279 from 2009 - 2010 and was recently recognized for his 50 consecutive years of membership.  He was also a member of St. Paul Trinity United Methodist Church in Elmore for 65 years.

Tom derived happiness from many things in life, but more than anything he enjoyed spending time with good people.  Throughout his later life, he enjoyed working on his tractors and tasks around the farm, playing euchre with his friends, hosting cookouts, traveling to Florida with Mickey, watching his grandkids' various events and cheering on the Cleveland Indians.

Tom is survived by his wife, Mickey, sons Scott (daughter-in-law LuAnn) and Paul, daughter Julie (son-in-law Brad), sisters Patti (Dunn) and Marilyn (Cooper), and grandchildren Andrew Hemminger, Emily Hemminger and Nicole Humberger.  He is preceded in death by his son Mark, and siblings Lowell, Kenny, Clayton, Wayne, Lauretta, Irma and Romaine.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude to the staff at Mercy St. Charles Hospital for the excellent care that Tom received, and the support given to his family during his final months.  Special thanks are extended to the nurses within the Cancer Center and the Infusion Center; Becky Truman, Jackie Towel, Molly Junga and RuthAnn Traver.  The kindness and compassion that you showed to Tom will never be forgotten.  They also wish to acknowledge the terrific doctors that took such great care of Tom, including Dr. Ravi Narra, Dr. Adnan Al Khalili and Dr. G. Mark Burton.

There will be a public graveside service at the Elliston Cemetery at 11:00 on Tuesday August 1st.

A celebration of Tom's life is set to take place on Saturday, August 5th at 11:00 am at St. Paul Trinity United Methodist Church in Elmore with a luncheon to follow at the Elmore American Legion.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are asked to please be sent either to the American Red Cross, the Elmore American Legion, Post 279, or St. Paul Trinity United Methodist Church in Elmore.

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