Thomas Patrick Stack

    Thomas Patrick Stack

August 20, 1935 – December 6, 2024

Tom came from a small mountain town in Arizona, and after two years at the University he was appointed to the Academy by Barry Goldwater, a fact he treasured all his life.

He loved his days at the Academy, especially the camaraderie with his classmates in that small first class and the cadet Honor Code. The Code was important to him, and he said it had a seminal influence on him and how he conducted himself throughout the remainder of his life. He graduated in 1959 with a smile on his face, a song in his heart, and a glint in his eye for pilot training and the Wild Blue that followed.

He flew aircraft in SAC, PACAF and USAFE, had two combat tours in Southeast Asia and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with clusters. He was nominated for the Koren Kolligian trophy for airmanship for saving an EB-66 and crew after an in-flight explosion returning from an ELINT mission along the Inner German Border. He had headquarters staff assignments in USAFE, SAC, and SHAPE. He finished his career in the Air Force with type rating in the Sabreliner and a heavy-duty security clearance which he used in the years that followed with AT&T and Lucent as a Program Manager on classified programs.

He loved sports both as a spectator and a participant. As a cadet he was on the gymnastics team and was team captain his first class year.  He competed in the 1960 Olympic swimming qualifying meets winning 50 and 100 freestyle races up through the Air Force level. He chose not to go further knowing his times were not really good enough at the national level and not wanting to miss graduating with his pilot training class.  He played golf all his life with the objective of shooting his age and playing “half-bogey” – which he finally accomplished in his late 70’s.

He will be remembered for his work with the Greensboro Youth Soccer Organization, the Dolphin Project, the Richmond Hill Historical Society, the Waterford Landing Homeowners’ Association, Saint Anne Catholic Church, the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and many others.

He was survived by his beloved wife, Karen, his children, daughters Katherine (Glenn) and Annie, son Jamie (Megan), Karen’s children, Malinda (Dave), Jen, Liz (Steve), and John (Kaori), his grandchildren Ryan (Kayla), Nick, Miles (Danayjha), Jared, Connor, Caroline, Calder, Madelynn, Mary Katherine, Audrey, Penny, Noah, Lucas, Gus, Hank and Jack, his great-grandchildren Adelyn, Jackson, Mila and Maya, his sister Ann, son-in-law Larry and Larry’s children Alexa, Jaclyn, Julia and Cole. He was preceded in death by his daughter Maria, late wife Ann, and his parents Leo Stack and Elizabeth Stack.

He was a man who loved and honored his wife, was amazed and gratified at the success of his children and one who subscribed to the idea that Duty is the most sublime word in the English language.

A memorial mass will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 7, 2025, at Saint Anne Catholic Church in Richmond Hill, with interment later at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs.  In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to a favorite humanitarian, animal rescue or environmental cause.