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.
3 comments:
Please accept my sincere condolences for the passing of Mr. Hale. I always find comfort in the scripture at John 5:28,29; when Jesus will raise up all those who are now sleeping in death; restoring them back to life on the renewed Paradise earth. I hope this will bring you some comfort, knowing that you can be reunited with your loved one again. Until then, may Jehovah God grant you peace and comfort.-Matthew 5:4.
Mary,
I am so sorry to hear about Tom. I'll keep you and the kids in my prayers. If I can help you with anything at all please let me know!
Sincerely,
Terri Wytrwal
I was saddened to hear that Thomas had passed away, but what helped bring comfort was to find that the Bible speaks of a time when death will be done away with: Isa. 25:8, 9: “He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces. . . . And in that day one will certainly say: ‘Look! This is our God. We have hoped in him, and he will save us. This is Jehovah. We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him.’” Also at John 5:28, 29: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” I know you will still experience pain, grief, and sorrow but I hope that these scriptures will bring some measure of comfort to you.
Post a Comment