May 11, 1938 – May 1, 2022
Thomas Joseph Fleming Jr., born May 11, 1938, once resident of Freedom, Maine, since in the care of the Maine Veterans Homes’ new Augusta campus, lost his long battle with dementia, passing from this Earth on May 1, 2022. He was 84 years old.
Leaving high school in favor of military service, Thomas joined the Navy in September of 1955 serving aboard both the USS Bennington (CVA-20) and the USS Forrestal (CVA-59), ending his service in May of 1959. Moving forward after his time in the military, Thomas had many careers throughout his life. Laborer, bus driver, carpenter, and machinist, he found jobs close to his home in Millis, Massachusetts and as far away as the casinos of Las Vegas, Nevada.
At a young age he found his passion for auto racing, working as a member of the pit crew for none other than Don MacTavish in Massachusetts, then moving on to tracks out west after he moved with his family to Colorado. While working with MacTavish Thomas found himself with a small roll in a theatrical featurette titled ‘Demo Derby’ that focused of the wildly popular demolition derby craze of the day.
Moving back to Maine in the mid-seventies Thomas tried his hand at many new endeavors including starting his own saw mill and founding his own small farm. Friends introduced him to gun collecting, encouraging his engagement in competitive marksmanship early, resulting in the establishment of a home gun range sometimes used by members of the Maine State Police among others.
Diagnosed with macular degeneration in the 1980s, though discouraging, served as only a minor speed bump to his list of hobbies. Though slowly losing the majority of his sight through the decades he was still able to restore two sports cars and completely remodel a utility truck that he gifted to his wife. As he went through rehabilitative services for his vision loss Thomas was able to take part in a program that placed him in charge of the canteen once located the State House in Augusta, Maine. In keeping with his dry wit and dark sense of humor he renamed the canteen The Tin Cup, a nod to his condition, and an obvious stereotype joke that could make even the most serious state legislator smile.
Thomas enjoyed engaging in Amateur radio later on, an activity that allowed him to communicate with men and women all over the globe, including contact with United States Naval vessels, stations set up at national sporting events, and astronauts aboard the International Space Station. He may have lost his sight, but he never seemed to lose his vision.
Thomas is predeceased by two sisters, Patricia and Ellen, survived by his wife, Hillary Ann Nowers Fleming, his daughter, Maryellen, and his son, Daniel.
Services will be held on August 13th, starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Freedom Congregational Church in Freedom, Maine. An honor guard ceremony will be held at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, also located in Freedom, at 12:00. For those who can not attend in person, a live stream will be made available through the Freedom Congregational Church Facebook page. Food will be provided at the church after Thomas’ interment. All who knew him, family and friends, are welcome to attend.
In Liew of flowers please feel free to give graciously to an Alzheimer’s and/or dementia research charity of your choice, in honor of Thomas and all those who struggle at the onset of these diseases.
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