Thomas William Elder

Thomas W. Elder, 83, died of natural causes on Sunday, July 18, 2010 at Plantation Healthcare in Lake Jackson. He was born in Springfield, Kentucky on March 1, 1927 and moved to Lake Jackson in 1951 to work for Ethyl-Dow Corporation and later for Dow Chemical until his retirement in 1986. On February 8, 1952 he married Geraldine Broussard at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Freeport.

He had a life-long passion for woodworking which he shared generously with his family and community. Tom was a charter member and was very active in his church, St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Lake Jackson having served on many building committees over the years. He served as owner’s representative for the construction of the Family Life Center and Spiritual Learning Center and did the same for construction of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic School in Richwood. He was a U.S. Army veteran. He once served as Deputy Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Council at St. Mary’s in Freeport.

He is survived by his wife, Gerry Elder, daughters, Margaret Reed and her children Meredith and Austin; Camille Forse, her husband Gary and their children Allison and Stephen; Linda Miller and her children Kenneth, Katy, Brian, Brittany and Sam; Helen Zook, her husband John and their children Adam, Levi and Ben; Sara Smith, her husband Eddie and their children Beth and Thomas; and son, John T. Elder, his wife Stacey and their children Kevin, Nicholas, Christopher, Alex and Lauren. He also leaves 6 great-grandchildren and his brother Jim Elder.

Tom was preceded in death by his first son, Thomas G. Elder in 1982. He was also preceded in death by his brothers John, Harold, Leslie, Louis, Herb, Sidney, his sister Elizabeth, and his parents, Turner and Margaret Elder.

The family wishes to express their gratitude to the staff at Plantation Healthcare and to close friends John and Shirley Girouard for their love and care during this past year.

Visitation will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20 at Restwood Funeral Home in Clute with a rosary following at 7:30 p.m. The funeral Mass will be held at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Lake Jackson at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21 followed by interment at Restwood Memorial Park.

Pallbearers will be all of his grandsons. Eucharistic gift bearers at the funeral Mass will be all of his granddaughters.

Donations in Tom’s memory may be made to Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic School, 1600 Highway 2004, Richwood, Texas 77531 or to St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Michael’s, 100 Oak Drive South, Lake Jackson, Texas 77566-5630.

Arrangements by Restwood Funeral Home. Online condolences may be left at www.restwoodfuneralhome.com.