Thomas Tykodi

1929 - 2019

Tykodi, Thomas
1929 - 2019
Thomas Theodore Tykodi, age 89, was born November 24, 1929, in Cleveland, Ohio and passed away Sunday, September 22, 2019, in St. Albans Township, Ohio from congestive heart failure. Tom was born into a strong Byzantine Catholic Hungarian family. He graduated from Maple Heights High School in 1947 (National Honor Society) and from Ohio University in 1951 with a B.S. in Education with a major in mathematics and minors in science and English. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, 1951-1953. He returned to Columbus and completed a Master of Education in Mathematics from the Ohio State University in 1956. It was there that he met the love of his life and future wife, Martha Ann Nichols, in a class for mathematics teachers. They lived most of their lives on the Nichols family farm in Harrison Township, Licking County, Ohio. He spent his career teaching mathematics at Whitehall Yearling and Bexley High Schools and was involved with numerous education-related activities including local, state and national education associations, Councils of Teachers of Mathematics and Phi Kappa Delta (a Teacher's organization). Class advisor, National Honor Society Advisor, Student-Faculty Council and Mathematics Department Chairman were among his many career titles. He retired from teaching in 1989 but never retired from his passion for education. Over the years, he had been heavily involved in the community through the Pataskala Presbyterian Church (Deacon, Elder, and Youth Fellowship Advisor), the Pataskala Library Board of Trustees, the Pataskala City Council, member of church choirs and the Golden Clefs, a senior citizen choir. He was one of the Grand Marshals of the Pataskala Street Fair in 2004. In his retirement years, he and his wife, Martha, became charter members of the West Licking Historical Society in which he remained active until his death. Through this affiliation, he helped with the publications of People Make a Difference (1976) and Preservation 2000 and became a co-owner of the Mead-Needham Museum. He had several long-time hobbies that included photography and travel. Through camping, RV-ing, and flying, Tom has visited all 50 states, all but two of the Canadian Provinces and 5 of 7 continents. Tom is preceded in death by his parents John and Mary (Vojtko) Tykodi, brothers Ralph Tykodi and Jack Tykodi, brothers-in-law Gerald Nemeth and Robert Fairall, and his son Thomas L. Tykodi. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Martha Ann (Nichols) Tykodi; sister, Loretta (Tykodi) Nemeth; daughters, Tammy (Matt) Seifert and Teri (Mark) Berliner; daughter-in-law, Debbie (Webber) Tykodi; sisters-in-law, Lois Tykodi and Mary Lou Fairall; grandchildren, Reid (Brittany) Seifert, Jill Seifert, and Becky (Tykodi) Wisma; great grandchildren, Reid Seifert Jr., Roen Seifert and Elliana Wisma; many nieces, nephews and cousins. Above all, Tom (a.k.a. Dad, Grandpa, Greatpa and Uncle Tom) was a family man. He never missed an opportunity to spend time with his siblings, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. and was the host of many Tykodi family reunions that included slide show "pictures on the wall." His uncanny wit, puns, puzzles and jokes will be dearly missed by all, especially his grandchildren. His philosophy of life was simple but powerful: Handle the present the best you possibly can, and the future will take care of itself. His passing leaves a giant hole in the Tykodi and extended families, the Pataskala Community and the world itself. Visitation and the sharing of memories will be 4-8 p.m. Friday, September 27, at the Kauber-Fraley Funeral Home, located at 289 S. Main St., Pataskala, Ohio 43062. A private graveside funeral service will be held for the family at the Pataskala Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be sent to the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the Mead-Needham Museum (4300 York Rd. SW, Pataskala, Ohio 43062) or the National Spinal Cord Injury Association.