Thomas Gary "Tom" Pol

1945 - 2019

Thomas Gary Pol (Tom), 74, of North Pole, passed away from advanced metastatic prostate cancer on the morning of Oct. 14, 2019, at his home with his wife and daughter at his side. Tom was diagnosed in 2018 with late stage cancer. In spite of being told this was a fight he could not win, he bravely stepped up to battle. Like all things in his life, he never gave up, always had hope and fought until the very end.
Tom was born on January 18, 1945, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to Miguel and Mary Pol, where his love of boats and fishing began. Tom went on to enlist in the United States Air Force where he proudly served his country in the Vietnam War and fine tuned his skills as a master electrician.
Tom shared 43 years of adventures with his loving wife and best friend Linda, who survives him. He is also survived by his side kick and daughter, Heather, and his precious granddaughter, Elise, who is his pride and joy. Tom had two sons from a previous marriage who survive him, Kevin and Thomas Pol, and numerous nieces and nephews. Tom leaves behind his close friends, Jim and Jan Scott; Gulf Coast fishing buddies, Herman and Leslie Seymour; and his partner in crime, John Peters, who he considered his brother and with whom he caused trouble for 30-plus years.
Tom was known for his hard work, retiring from Civil Service at Fort Wainwright. He had his own business, Tom's Electric, for many years. After retirement, he continued his hard work with household projects and truly never stopped. His hands were always dirty. He was a man you could count on, always kept his word and always kept you laughing. He would give you the shirt off his back or last dollar from his pocket or tell you, "When you do stupid, bad things happen." He was a loving husband, father, papa and friend to many. The world was a better place because of him. He had a full and happy life and will be so very missed. The family takes comfort in knowing that right now, he is smiling down and fixing any broken steps to heaven for all of us to be together again someday.
The memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, at the Blanchard Family Funeral Home. The family will bring him home one last time before he is laid to rest on a future, beautiful summer day at Birch Hill Cemetery. The family requests that in lieu of sending flowers, donations be made to the J. Michael Carroll Cancer Center, where so many took such great care of Tom and his family during his courageous fight.
Condolences may be sent to 1797 Jessica Loop, North Pole, AK 99705.