Thomas John Yoakum

Thomas John Yoakum passed away on November 11, 2011 at 11:11am. Tom was a ray of sunshine. He was kind, eternally loving and selfless. Simply put, he was a beautiful man. Tom was known as a wonderful listener, a fantastic organizer and someone with a great passion for detail. He had an awesome sense of humor and loved music, especially Gordon Lightfoot, Dan Fogelberg and Joan Baez. Tom also had a life-long love of golf, which he shared with his father. What he was most known for though, was the endless love he had for his family. Tom was a devoted husband to Kathleen for 35 years, an amazing father and fun-loving "Grandpa Tom". Tom was born to parents Dorothy and Wes Yoakum on Jan. 7th, 1944. He attended Eastmoor HS and The Ohio Sate University. He served his military time in the Ohio National Guard. Tom worked for the Shoe Corp. of America, followed by a long career at The State of Ohio BWC. After retiring, he worked for several years at NBBJ Architectural Firm. He was formerly a supervisor for the Suicide Prevention Hotline. Tom was a member of Central College Presbyterian Church and a former member of Brookwood Presbyterian Church . Tom leaves behind his wife, Eliza Kathleen, children Paul (Lisa) Howey of MD, Phil (Leisa) Howey of GA, Eliza (Wes) Ingram of OH, Josh (Stephanie) Howey of OH. and grandchildren Kayla, Marissa, Phillip, Avery, Braley, Jared and Lizzy. Preceded in death by parents and by grandson, Paul ("Ziggy"). Memorial service will be held on Friday, November 18th, 2pm, at Central College Presbyterian Church in the Ellsworth Chapel. 975 Sunbury Rd. Westerville, OH 43081. Donations in Tom's honor can be made to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.