Thomas Alan Toops

July 31, 1947 – September 27, 2020

Col. Thomas “Tom” A. Toops (Retired), age 73, passed away peacefully on September 27, 2020.

Tom was born on July 31, 1947 in Fairfield, Alabama to the late Roy R. Toops, Jr. and Dorothy Jean Reed. He graduated from Fairfield High School in 1965 and then attended the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. After graduating from the Academy in June of 1969, he married Karen Raymer of Aurora, Colorado just days before deploying for his first assignment.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Karen Toops of Aurora, Colorado; sister Jeanne Wainer of Dallas, Texas; brother Steve Toops of Hsinchu, Taiwan; daughter Tami Moore of Albuquerque, New Mexico; son Todd Toops of Knoxville, Tennessee; and grandchildren Emma, Jacob, Camellia and Rosemary. He was preceded in death by his sister Katherine Toops.

Tom served honorably in the U.S. Air Force for 27 years. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant upon graduating from the Air Force Academy in June 1969. After completing undergraduate pilot training at Craig Air Force Base in Selma, Alabama, he was assigned as a KC-135 pilot with the 43rd Air Refueling Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane, Washington. He served as a pilot, instructor pilot, and standardization and evaluation pilot while supporting the efforts in Vietnam.

In 1975, he entered the Air Force Institute of Technology Operations Research Program at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. He then served as a systems analyst at the Air Force Operations Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 1977 to 1981.

Tom completed Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1982. He then became an E-3 pilot at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. While stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, Tom served as the operations officer for the 966th Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) Squadron until May 1988. He then served as the commander of the 962nd AWACS Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska. He was the deputy J3 of the Alaskan Command prior to reporting to Washington, D.C. in August 1991 to attend attaché training. In 1993, he and Karen moved to Cairo, Egypt where he served as Air Attaché until his retirement in 1996.

He was a command pilot and had over 6000 flying hours in the KC-135, T-39 and E-3. After retiring from the Air Force, he was a pilot for Atlas Air from 1997 to 2007, where he logged well over 5000 additional flying hours on the B-747.

Tom served in the Vietnam Campaign as well as in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. His military awards and decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Air Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, AF Outstanding Unit Award, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Device, and Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Tom earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1969 and a master’s degree in operations research from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1976. He also successfully completed Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, and Air War College.

When not flying around the world, Tom enjoyed a multitude of recreational activities including fishing, camping, biking, skiing, ice skating, hiking, scuba diving, rafting, bowling, and waterskiing. He was highly competitive and was always up for playing games, cards, or billiards. He was a voracious reader, spoke Arabic and was learning Spanish. The family enjoyed so many amazing adventures together from climbing Mt. Fuji to deep sea fishing in Alaska, sightseeing in the Serengeti, scuba diving in Sharm el-Sheikh, trekking through Taiwan, swimming in the Dead Sea, searching for the Holy Grail in Petra, and traveling through Europe to visit all the wonderful friends who were made along the journey.

Tom will be buried with military honors at Olinger Funeral Home and Cemetery – Chapel Hill in Centennial, Colorado.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a gift to support the Parkinson Association of the Rockies. Please send your donation in memory of Tom Toops to: Parkinson Association of the Rockies, 1325 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 204B, Denver, CO 80222 or online at: parkinsonrockies.org/online-donation.