Thomas F. Hale, 60, passed away on July 5, 2013
surrounded by his loving family. Tom is
survived by his devoted wife Mary; children Shawn (Tiffany), Justin (Alison),
Joshua, Kathleen and Elizabeth; grandchildren Shawn, Riley, Mason, William, and
Cy; siblings Kenneth and David Hale and
Cheryl Somerset. He was born in England
at a US military base, where his father was stationed.
Shortly after
his birth, his family relocated back to the states, eventually settling in
Winter Garden, Florida. After graduating from Lakeview High School, Tom served
four years in the United States Air Force as a crew chief on C130
airplanes. After leaving the military,
following in his father's footsteps, he was blessed with a passion for his
career as a truck driver. He drove for
The Martin Brower Company for 31 years, delivering to McDonald's throughout the
state of Florida. During those years he won numerous truck driving competitions
at both local and state levels.
It was while
delivering to McDonald's, Tom met Mary.
They were married in December of 1988, celebrating 25 years of marriage
this year. His role as a father added great meaning to his life. He enjoyed
coaching his three son's baseball teams, and was thrilled to eventually have
two daughters to complete his family. As
a family, they looked forward to and enjoyed many vacations both here in the
states and cruising the Caribbean. Tom enjoyed a variety of hobbies over the
years, including model building, fishing, bowling, flying single engine planes,
and eventually settling into a good game of golf. Tom and his family were long
time parishioners at Saint Andrews Church.
Diagnosed
early this year with advanced lung cancer, he courageously battled the awful
disease. Faced with a challenging
prognosis, he agreed to fight the disease aggressively. He was introduced to a
wonderful group of doctors, nurses, technicians, and therapists at Orlando Health.
During his 7 week stay in ICU, this team, lead by Dr. Mark Vollenweider, worked
daily to overcome the many obstacles he faced.
We cannot express the gratitude for the wonderful personalized care and
compassion Tom received.
Family will
receive friends on Monday, July 8th from 7-9 pm at Dobbs Funeral Home, located
at 430 N. Kirkman Road, Orlando. Funeral Mass will be at Saint Andrews Catholic
Church in Orlando on Tuesday, July 9th at 4pm with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Fr. Andy
O'Reilly, CPPS (211 Green Dolphin St.,
Morehead City, NC 28557) to support his preaching ministry. Tom thought the
world of Fr. Andy and his work in Parish Missions.
Tom lives with
us in memory and will forever more.