Thomas Edward Neeser

Former resident Thomas Edward Neeser, 62, died Aug. 27, 2009, at home in Reno, Nev., after a hard-fought battle with cancer. A service will be at noon Saturday at St. Thomas Parish in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, with a reception afterward at The Coeur d'Alene Resort. Born July 7, 1947, in Nampa, Idaho, Tom was the third of 14 children of Louis and Verda Neeser. He was a great-grandson of Swiss emigres John and Elizabeth Neeser, Idaho (wagon train) pioneers, and grandfather Alma. His genes were also greatly influenced by his three Irish grandparents, Grace Fitzpatrick, James Pender and Margaret McNamara. Tom moved to Lewiston, Idaho, at age 2 and lived in a tent while his father built their house in an apple orchard. This building effort eventually turned into Neeser Construction Co. Tom moved to Spokane, Wash., in the early '50s and attended St. Aloysius grade school. He and his younger brother Jerry spent those early summers riding their bikes and getting into unadmitted mischief. In 1959, the family moved to Coeur d'Alene, where Tom attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Academy. He was a standout on the football team and once kicked a 52-yard field goal. During his high school years, Tom performed "slave labor" as one of four older brothers during the summers, helping to build several churches and schools in Idaho and Washington. During these years, the family spent a good deal of time at lake property on Pend Oreille, where he developed a lifelong love of the outdoors, becoming an avid fisherman and hunter. Drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict, he served as a medic for two years in Germany before traveling the eastern and southern United States. He spent several years enjoying life in the '60s. Tom married Kristen Wistert on Dec. 31, 1971, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and they had a son, Jason. Tom later spent 20 years with Darlene Cortner and they had a son, Ryan. He then married Linda Jack on Nov. 7, 2002, and helped raise Linda's children, Jason and Rowan. Linda compassionately cared for her best friend, Tom, during his extended battle with cancer. As an adult, Tom worked as a commercial real estate developer in California with his brother Michael and his father Louis for a time. In later years, he also worked with his brother Gerald on various construction projects in western California and Alaska. He lived here in 1974-75. He also developed and managed a student apartment complex in Reno, Nev., for many years. Tom is survived by his wife, Linda; children, Jason and Ryan Neeser; stepchildren, Jason and Rowan; brothers, Michael (Reno, Nev.), Patrick (Boise, Idaho), Gerald (Anchorage), Louis (Spokane) and Colman (Tacoma, Wash.); sisters, Susie Blethen, Barbara Neeser and Coleen Quisenberry (all of Spokane), Kathy Riener (Ferdinand, Idaho), Mary Meacham (Tacoma) and Molly Kernan (Chewelah, Wash.); and 37 loving nieces and nephews as well as many other family members. All will miss his intellectual curiosity, silver tongue and outrageous sense of humor. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, brother Johnny and sister Martha. Memorial donations are suggested to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.