Thomas James Kane

1935 - 2025

Thomas James Kane, 89

Thomas James Kane, 89, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, passed away Sunday, August 24, 2025. He was born on November 23, 1935 in Rapid City, South Dakota, the son of Raymond James and Laura (Laprath) Kane. In 1938 Tom's family moved to Clark Fork, Idaho then to Coeur d'Alene in 1944.

Tom spent the majority of his childhood growing up in the community that he loved, Coeur d'Alene. He attended St. Thomas Catholic Elementary then IHM Catholic Academy, where he graduated in 1954. After high school Tom was accepted to the University of Notre Dame where he studied and played football. Two years later he transferred to the University of Montana where he was able to play one more year of football before suffering career ending injuries. Tom graduated from U of M in 1959 with a degree in speech.

It wasn't too long after returning to Coeur d'Alene, Tom married his sweetheart, Mary Lou Hanson in 1960. They had three boys, Jim, John and Justin. Countless memories were made from swimming at Sanders beach, camping at Twin and Spirit lakes, hunting and fishing trips, snowmobiling and chasing three boys that played multiple sports each.

Tom started his teaching/coaching career at IHM, but he was not there long. Tom was offered the head football coach position at Lakeland high school in 1962, which he gladly accepted and continued his teaching/coaching career until 1973. After leaving his role as an educator, Tom started a new career in real estate. He was partners with his mother, Laura at Derby/Kane realty, later to become Kane Realty.

Tom's passion was teaching and coaching where his intensity and attention to detail got the most out of people. He was a big strong man with a big strong voice. He always brought tremendous passion and creativity whether it be in the classroom or on the field. Most generally he would earn one's respect, but always demanded one's attention. Behind the toughness was a man that had a big heart filled with kindness, empathy and understanding. He cared about his students and athletes deeply. He cherished those relationships until his passing.

Tom was a powerful public speaker; he had a gift to grab peoples' attention through thought provoking words. He was not afraid to implement creative techniques while delivering his message in a way that kept his audience engaged. He was an excellent communicator and loved to motivate and inspire others through speech or written words, especially poetry. Most of his poems - and there were hundreds of them - were easy to understand, but powerful. They were typically descriptive of a relationship or event and often told a story of a family outing.

Over the last 27 years of his life Tom was dedicated to a second family he found through Alcoholics Anonymous where he developed many deep and meaningful relationships. He was dedicated to helping as many people as he could through his experiences.

Tom loved his family and our community very much. He worked with many organizations and groups over the years to preserve public access to our lakes, including preventing the development of Tubbs Hill and countless other projects that helped preserve North Idaho values. He always spoke of trying to give back and help others when possible. He said recently "You can't keep what you can't give". Though he has now found peace in the presence of our Lord, he will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Tom is survived by son, Jim (Tammy) of Post Falls, Idaho; daughter-in-Law, Kim Coles of Green Acres Washington; son, Justin (Angie) of Dalton Gardens, Idaho; younger sister, Colleen (Bob) of Tempe, Arizona; grandson's: Matt (Brooke) of Hayden, Idaho; J (Carmen) of Pony Montana; Nate (Paige) of Trout Creek, Montana; Brennen (Krista) of Post Falls, Idaho; granddaughter's: Megan (Lindsay) of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Lina (Skyler) of Cusick, Washington; Whitney (Grant) of Post Falls, Idaho; Halle of Tampa, Florida; and 13 great grandchildren.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Mary Lou; sister, Carol; brothers, Tim, Terry and Mike; great grandson, Sander and beloved son, John.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 4:00 PM on Friday, September 5, 2025 at Lake City Center (1916 N. Lakewood Drive, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho 83815). Please join the family following the service for food and sharing of memories.

Please visit Tom's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.