Thomas H. Fletcher
July 14, 1918 - July 7, 2002
A Story of a Hard-working Man

Tom’s Early Years

When Tom was born, his family lived in Dunkirk, Ohio. When he was ~2 years old the family moved to Akron, Ohio where his father, Ray, worked at the Goodyear Tire Plant. When he was ~6 years old the family moved back to Dunkirk and finally bought a house. His Dad opened a service garage. Tom went all the way through school at Dunkirk and graduated there. He met Marcele Ripley, his future wife, at Dunkirk School which they attended together for 11 years. Tom and his family also attended the United Brethren Church of Dunkirk, Ohio. Tom’s father, Ray, was killed in 1933 in a tragic train-car accident when Tom was only 15 years old. His mother, Lillian, married Thomas Reynolds in 1937.

Tom and Marcele, his high school sweetheart, were married on May 24, 1939 in Decatur, Indiana. His mother Lillie and step-father Tom Reynolds were attending. His daughter, and only child, Judith Ann, was born in Kenton, Ohio in October 1941. They all lived with Tom’s parents for a while until they were able to buy their own house in Lima in 1943.

When Tom graduated in 1936, he went to work at Kenton Oil. From 1937 to 1940 he worked for E&L Trucking as a driver. Then he worked for Marcele's brother, Harry, at Shawnee Beer Distributors in Lima, Ohio (1940-42). He drove a truck and delivered beer. In 1942 he went to work for the Nickel Plate Railroad in Lima. He started in the yard loading and unloading, then as a Clerk and Crane Operator and worked there until he was drafted into the army.

Tom’s Military Service

Tom was drafted in the US Army and went to service May 26, 1944 out of Fort Thomas, Kentucky. He was sent to Camp Fannin, Texas for training and had his tonsils out there. From there he went to Fort Ord, California and then on to Camp Fort Laughton in Seattle, Washington. He then went by ship to Honolulu for 16 days at the 13th Replacement Depot. From there he went to the 23rd Replacement Depot in Saipan for 15 days and then on to the Philippines. They went around Okinawa to the north and landed at Buckner Bay on May 3rd and he was in combat until wounded on May 16, 1945 in the battle for Chocolate Drop Hill on Okinawa. Tom carried a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) into combat. These soldiers were a high priority target of the Japanese. He was shot across the back and lay wounded on the active battle field until an armored vehicle was able to drive over top of him and pull him up through a door in the bottom. He spent 62 days in the hospital in Guam. He left for Saipan on July 17 and departed for the US on March 2 or 3 with a stop over in Hawaii. They sailed into San Francisco Bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, on the USS Marine Lynx on March 17. He was sent by river boat to Sacramento, California and then by train to Camp Atterbury, near Indianapolis, Indiana, and discharged on March 26, 1946. Tom earned the Purple Heart for being wounded in action.

Tom’s Work in the Trucking Business

After the War, Tom could not find work in Lima, so they rented their house in Lima and went to Florida and lived with Marcele’s sister Isabelle and her husband, Harry Mandt so Tom could look for work. He drove a truck and delivered gas. They came back to Ohio when Marcele's mother had a heart attack and it was time for Judy to start school. Since their house was still rented, they lived in a small building (a former chicken coop) behind Mom & Tom's Restaurant in Findlay, until they could get back in their house on Eureka. Before going to work again in the trucking business, Tom spent the summer painting elevators and silos.

In August 1947 he went to work for Commercial Carriers (an auto transport company out of Detroit Michigan) as a truck driver. He became an Owner/Operator of his own rig and continued driving a truck, or series of trucks (always named the "Judy Ann") out of Lima, until he moved into management and became a dispatcher, first at the terminal in Sharonville (Cincinnati), Ohio and then in Miami, Florida. He retired from Commercial on July 29, 1983. In 1952 Tom and Marcele also bought a "Dairy Treet" franchise and opened a frozen custard stand at the corner of St. Johns Avenue and 4th Street, at the edge of Lima, Ohio. Marcele managed the business and the whole family worked there including Tom when he wasn't on the road.

When Tom's trucking work moved to Sharonville, Ohio they also moved to Forest Park, Ohio (near Cincinnati) in July 1965. When Tom's work then moved to Miami in 1973 they moved to Miami, Florida. After retirement in 1983, they bought a house in the west central Florida community of Beverly Hills and moved there.

Tom’s Interests and Passions

After the War Tom took flying lessons and learned to fly while they were living in Miami, Florida. Over the years he owned three airplanes: a 1954 Piper Tri-Pacer; a 1957 Cessna 182; and a 1964 Cessna 182. After he was diagnosed with heart problems he had to quit flying and sold his plane.

Over the years he also had a number of boats. His first was a 14 foot Crosby fiberglass with a 40HP outboard. Then he bought a 17 foot Crestliner aluminum with a 50HP and then a 75HP outboard. He ran these boats on the Auglaize River near Oakwood, Ohio. There was a large floating dock where we all water skied. Many years later, after they lived in Beverly Hills, he bought a 14' bass boat with a 40hp motor. He loved to fish. In 1990 Tom and Marcele bought a summer place at Indian Lake, Ohio and he took the boat there. This was just across the street from Gerald and Alberta McCune in Chippewa Park. The Fletchers and McCunes have been very close for many years, ever since the time Judy and Larry met.

After retirement, Tom became a master woodworker and he spent many, many hours in his shop. He could make anything, but he especially loved to design and make the most intricate turned bowls. All members of the family have samples of his work.

A Fond Farewell from His Daughter and Son-in-Law

Tom’s health problems slowly accumulated over the years starting the late 1970’s, but they never really got him down until the last year or two. In the week before he died his kidneys got very bad and he was hospitalized. He died very suddenly and quietly in the hospital on Sunday July 7, 2002. Marcele was with him at his side. Tom donated his body to science at the Anatomical Center of the University of Florida at Gainesville. His body was then cremated and the ashes scattered over the Gulf of Mexico.