Tom McNeil

1964 - 2020

The rock of our family slipped away at home on April 29, 2020 leaving us with memories of the best husband, dad and friend we could have asked for. Tom is dearly loved and deeply missed by his wife Brenda, and children Andrew, Katie (Luke) and Krista.

Tom was born June 24, 1964 in Grande Prairie, Alberta and moved many times throughout his childhood, finally settling in Kamloops in 1982, graduating from Kam-High in 1983.

Tom and Brenda met shortly after at a Cariboo College dance in 1986. Tom, with his outgoing personality approached a table of girls, offering up a guessing game, the winner coming away with a map to an after party. As they say the rest is history. Tom and Brenda married at Riverside Park in July 1989, and children followed in 1995, 1997 and 2003

Tom had many jobs in sales and the construction industry. He was a salesman, a builder and primarily a project manager. At one point he earned the nickname Tom Horton, out of his love for appearing on job sites with coffee and doughnuts. His organizational skills were incredible, which meant he did accomplish far more projects than expected. He joked that in return, he got a lot of "atta-boys."

When people think of Tom, they will remember his eye for detail, his straightforward talk, his passion for muscle cars, his meticulous house and yard, and his joy in finding the "diamond in the rough" on Kijiji. Wheeling and dealing was an art form for Tom- aka "Good Deal McNeil."

Above all, was Tom's love for his wife and children. It was always family first for Tom. Vacations were taken together, including several cruises, which he loved. Many summers were spent at Shuswap Lake, camping, boating and tubing. Sunday dinners were a requirement-no excuses. Even a few hours before Tom passed, he enjoyed the company of having his family come together for dinner.

Tom fought a long battle with cancer for many years, yet somehow always found a way to look on the bright side and find something to be grateful for. The fact he continued living life to the fullest while battling cancer, was a testament of his love for life, good friends and watching his family grow.

Life without Tom is unimaginable right now for his family. As well as the loss of his strong presence, it means no one to go to for advice on things such as day to day life issues, career and relationship problems, all the way to tedious things such as oil changes, home maintenance and equipment instructions. It appears, though, he thought about those things in advance. When his son went to use a tool recently, he opened up the tool case, to discover step-by-step instructions carefully written out by his Dad.

It is difficult at best, to honour a life as meaningful as Tom's using only words, but if we could, Tom would be summed up as our Hero.

The family would like to thank Dr. Peter Loland, Cherie, Dr. Christine Blyth and his many good friends.

No service by Tom's request.

"We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when"
- Alan Jackson

Condolences may be sent to the family at DrakeCremation.com