Thomas Francis Martin

Thomas was preceded in death by his wife of 42 years Joyce Lorraine Martin; parents Francis and Anna Martin; son Thomas Eckermann; brother Donald Martin; sister Kathleen Olsen; and former wife Ida Mary (McGill) Martin.

He is survived by his children Debra (Gerry) Hilde, Brian Martin, Susan Martin, Kelly Martin, and Terri Greer; grandchildren Cori (Dave), Chad (Kelly), Lorraine, Michael, Kevin, Kristin (Tony), Chelsea, Dana (Brett), Elana, Taylor, and Trent; great-grandchildren Bobbi (Ted), Zoe, Eric, Aiden, Braxton, Logan, Nainoa, Nora, Audrey, Preston, Grayson, Calvin, and Kailana; great-great-grandchild Jameson, and many cherished friends.

Tom was born in Omaha, where he lived his entire life. Tom lived at his home on Polk Street for over 60 years. After graduating from South High School in 1955, he worked at the Armour meat packing plant and later apprenticed as a steamfitter. Tom was a member of the Omaha Steamfitter and Plumbers Union 464 and worked as a steamfitter until he retired in 1998 at the age of 62. He worked at many locations including the Cooper Nuclear Power Plant in Brownville, the Fort Calhoun power plant, and Kellogs to name a few.

After his official retirement, Tom did handyman jobs to keep himself busy. He did it all---plumbing, electricity, HVAC, construction, painting, landscaping, automotive, and more. One of Tom’s post-retirement jobs was providing lawn care at Discovery Presbyterian Church. He especially enjoyed this responsibility.

Generous with his time and talents, he often helped his kids and grandkids with various projects, such as replumbing a house, installing a dishwasher, building a deck, installing garage plumbing, and so much more.

Tom was a resourceful man who was creative with solutions, affectionately referred to as “Martinizing” by his daughter Terri. One only needs to walk through his garage, basement, or other living areas to see evidence of his common sense problem-solving skills, such as installing the following: copper pipe touch-lites on his bedroom headboard and doorway, a 6-inch HVAC pipe toilet paper holder, multiple grab bars, etc. Tom never met a 4-inch drywall screw he didn’t like.

Tom and Joyce enjoyed traveling after he retired. They loved road trips and drove often to Colorado, Indiana, Oregon, Texas and visited Hawaii, where he parasailed at the youthful age of 68.

Tom enjoyed hunting and fishing with his friends and his son Brian. They hunted pheasant, ducks, quail, deer, and bullfrogs. Fishing included crappies, bull heads, and northern pike.

Tom enjoyed music and dancing and was known to “cut quite the rug.” He favored Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, and swing music.

Tom and Joyce had many pets including Tish, Sammy, Tiger, Darcy, Cash, and most recently Milo and Mister, both of whom already miss him.

Tom and Joyce loved going to garage sales and were always on the lookout for bargains. For a time, they went every Thursday and plotted out their driving path based on the newspaper ads.

Tom’s daughters, Terri and Suzi, lovingly cared for both Tom and Joyce in their home during their later years.

For the last 15 plus years, Tom went to cardiac rehab three times a week. He looked forward to this activity and seeing the many friends he made there.Tom loved fruit of all kinds, but his favorite treat was ice cream. He always got a Runza ice cream cone after his various doctor appointments. We hope they have ice cream in heaven. The angels are lucky to have Tom Martin. Rest in peace Tom. You will be missed.