Born May 22, 1949 in Peoria to Burl and Vivian (Vars) Stokes; he first married Belinda Stoker in 1972 and later married Cecelia “Gail” Everett on June 15, 1995 in Las Vegas, NV.
Surviving are his wife, Gail Stokes of East Peoria; children, Shelley Stokes Scaff of Mackinaw, Tara (John) Powell of Farmington and Tom (Rachelle) Stokes of Metamora; step-children, Joshua (Erica) Kelsey, Jessica (George) Boyer, and Kally (Sam) Scronce; 17 grandchildren of whom he was very proud; sister, Judy (Ron) Rosenow; his dogs, Jack and Cozmo; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Paul; and sister, Virginia Timmons.
Tom was a proud US Army veteran having served overseas after graduating from East Peoria High School.
In 1973, Tom began his career with Caterpillar as a Millwright working mostly from the Mossville plant until his retirement in 2003 after 30 years of service.
Family was the most important thing to Tom and spending time with any of his family always brought him joy. He enjoyed being outside and tending to his garden. If he wasn’t outside you would find him in his “Pet Room” taking care of his plants and pets.
In recent years, his favorite pastime was “breakfast with the boys” at Bob Evans.
Services for Tom will begin at 7:00 pm Wednesday, September 26, 2018 at Remmert Funeral Home in East Peoria with Military Funeral Honors followed by personal tributes from family and friends.
Visitation will be 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm Wednesday at the funeral home prior to the services.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to St. Jude or any charity.
