Thomas F. Sheffer

Thomas Fox Sheffer was born on June 29, 1925, in Uniontown, PA to Horace M. and Myrl Fox Sheffer. He was the second of the four Sheffer children: Frank was the eldest and Harry came after him. Both are deceased. His youngest sibling, Carolyn Fondrk, survives him in Newbury, OH.

Thom was raised in western Pennsylvania and it was while living in Darlington that he fell in love with Frances McGaffick at a church event when she was 14 & he was 16.

He graduated from Darlington High School in 1943 and eventually graduated from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted by the U.S. Army in May 1945. He was deployed to the Pacific theatre during WWII, spending time in the Philippines and Japan before returning to the U.S. in October 1946.

He went on to study medicine at the Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he received his doctorate in 1951. He married his high school sweetheart Fran on January 25, 1950, as soon as she graduated from nurse’s training.

While doing his internship in Grove City, PA, their first child, Gregory Thomas, was born. They moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1952, where he opened a family medical practice in association with the Las Olas Hospital. Their daughters were born there: Becky in 1953, Karen in 1954 and Sherry in 1960.

While in FL, he was active in the Grace Brethren Church, the local Youth for Christ club and the Optimist Club. It was in 1977 that he was recruited by the United States Air Force, where he proudly served until his retirement as a full-bird colonel in 1993. He served at Moody AFB (Valdosta, GA), Tinker AFB (OKC, OK), Reese AFB (Lubbock, TX) and Keesler AFB (Biloxi, MS). He often said that it was one of the best decisions he ever made.

But by far the very best decision was placing his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in 1968 at age 43. Besides being very active in his local church (teaching Sunday School, going on medical missions trips or helping at the rescue mission), he was also a member of Gideons International.

He is survived by his devoted wife (of 68 years), Fran. If ever there was an example of a beautiful marriage, it was theirs. He is also survived by his children and their spouses: Greg (Mariellen) Sheffer and their 9 children, Becky (Kent) Good, Karen (Keith) Riffel and their 6 children and Sherry (James) Brady and their 2 children. Finally, he is survived by 21 great grandchildren (& counting). All because two people fell in love!

After spending most of their retirement years in Oklahoma, they moved to Friendship Village in Schaumburg, IL in 2013 to be closer to family and greatly enjoyed being part of that community and the Bethel Baptist Church. After a rough winter and health problems, they decided to move to the Atlanta area. He was diagnosed with cancer and pneumonia within 3 weeks of his arrival and passed away on June 14, 2018.

Thom was an example of how one ordinary life can be extraordinary when a man follows God, loves his family and does what’s right by his friends. He will be deeply missed. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to Bethel Baptist Church of Schaumburg or to Gideons International.