Thomas Michaels Jr.

1926 - 2023

Thomas G. Michaels Jr. passed away peacefully at age 96 on January 15, 2023, at the Sitter and Barfoot Nursing Home outside Richmond. A resident of Charlottesville for his last 14 years, Tom was a native of Syracuse, New York, where he was a graduate of LeMoyne College. Soon after his Army service in Europe during World War II, he returned to Syracuse and married Tess (Connors). They raised eight children before Tess died too soon of cancer. Tom was an avid golfer at central N.Y. country clubs, and a devoted parishioner and volunteer at Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church. He spent his career with Haylor, Freyer & Coon, a Syracuse-based insurance agency, where he retired as a vice president in 1989.

He and his wife, Nancy (Smith), met in Syracuse in 1982, and relocated to Charlottesville in 2008, where they enjoyed the longer golf seasons and working together for RMC Events as ushers for UVA basketball and football games. They were seasonal members at Meadowcreek Golf Course, where Tom served for many years as a volunteer course worker. Tom and Nancy were parishioners at Holy Comforter Catholic Church.

Tom was predeceased by his parents, Aloween and Thomas G. Sr.; his loving wife, Therese; sons, Daniel and Thomas; and daughter-in-law, MaryLou. He is survived by four sons and two daughters and their families, including 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. His Charlottesville surviving family are his wife, Nancy, and stepsons, Larry (Susan Sherman) Garretson and Bruce Garretson of Charlottesville;

Services were held in Syracuse on January 27, 2023. A remembrance ceremony is planned for Charlottesville in the spring. To be informed of the ceremony, please email rememberingTGMichaels@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 200 Gateway Park Drive, Syracuse, NY 13212 or The Alzheimer's Association of Central and Western Virginia, https://www.alz.org/cwva.