G. Thomas Cavanaugh

G. Thomas Cavanaugh, 73, formerly of Indianapolis, IN, passed away on July 8, 2016 in Venice, Florida. George Thomas Cavanaugh �"Tom” was born April 13, 1943 to George and Bernice (Porter) Cavanaugh in Terre Haute, Indiana. After attending Schulte High School and Indiana State University, Tom enlisted in the Marines. He married Josephine Theresa Eggers on August 13, 1966 in Chicago, IL.

He is survived by his beloved wife of almost 50 years, Jo Cavanaugh, son Mark Thomas Cavanaugh, daughter Julie Cavanaugh Pache, (Tony), brother, Michael P. Cavanaugh (Andie) and six grandchildren: �"Opa” to Faith and Olivia Cavanaugh, Noah, Leah, Daniel and Eli Pache, and several nieces and nephews.

Through the years, Tom and Jo lived in various places around the country as Tom worked in a variety of engineering positions. This included Chicago Vitreous Corporation in Chicago, Magic Chef in Cleveland, TN, and finally in Indianapolis with Jenn-Air Corporation. Tom owned his own home repair company for 10 years. Tom retired in 2005, and after Jo’s retirement from teaching at Cathedral High School they moved to Venice, FL in 2012.

Tom epitomized the four Fs: Faith, Family, Fun and Fixing!

His faith in God was clear to all, he had a vision that Christ wanted him to make a difference in this world. He made Cursillo in 1972, and had been in a weekly prayer group since that time. A trip to the Holy Land further deepened his relationship with Christ. His faith also extended to his country as a proud U.S. Marine â€" Semper Fi!

A true family man, Tom delighted in taking his entire family and grandkids (12 people in all!) to Europe for 10 days. When an African safari beckoned, he and Jo took their children to South Africa for two weeks â€" those memories will last a lifetime. Beyond just the travel, fun, and games â€" he even reached out to take guardianship of two of his granddaughters to get them through high school.

Fun came in many different ways when Tom was involved. He was an adventurous traveller and outdoorsman. He and his wife have visited almost every state including Hawaii and Alaska, chaperoned several Cathedral student trips to Europe, drove England and Ireland for their 25th anniversary, and explored Canada, Israel, South Africa, and Egypt. Nature called to Tom, going deer hunting at ‘camp’ and of course, fishing.

When called to the great indoors, a good card game wasn’t far behind! He also loved to cook, and his Italian cuisine actually won a competition! His latest adventure was being a formally trained Tidewell hospice clown, with the clown name of ‘Tooter.’ This was just an extension of his mischievous and wicked sense of humor.

Anyone with a home repair business named ‘Honey-Do’ obviously knew his way around a toolbox! Tom had an incredible number of tools (and of course, everything was appropriately labelled and in its place). He demonstrated his abilities in all facets of design and engineering by remodeling his four houses, and generally being the ‘go-to’ guy for all who knew him for how to fix things. He also volunteered his services with inner-city Indianapolis Catholic schools being one of the many beneficiaries of his skills. Most recently, he fixed all the pews at St. Raphaels in Englewood, Florida. His wife, Jo, never had to call a repair man in her entire married life!

A Memorial Mass will be held Thursday, July 28th at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish located at 5692 Central Ave. Indianapolis, IN, 46220 at 10:30 AM. Luncheon will follow services at IHM.

The Funeral Mass will be celebrated Thursday, August 11th at 10:00 AM at St. Raphael Catholic Church, Englewood, FL. Cremains will be placed into the Memorial Garden after Mass. A celebration of life reception will follow at the clubhouse of Japanese Gardens, 6181 Teahouse Rd. Venice, FL.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to either the Cathedral High School, Indianapolis, IN or the Semper Fi Fund at

http://www.cathedral-irish.org/

https://semperfifund.org/donate/