Thomas Jack Lasater Jr.

Thomas Jack Lasater, III, age 72, of Murrells Inlet, SC, passed away peacefully Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at CMC Embrace Hospice House in Myrtle Beach.
Formerly of San Fernando Valley, CA, Thomas was born in Galveston, TX the son of the late Thomas Jack Lasater, Sr. and Nella Kotula Varett.
A lover of classic cars and motorcycles, Thomas enjoyed gambling and smoking cigars with the guys at Goodfellas Cigar Lounge and Nancy Garins' homemade apple pies. Throught the years, Thomas was known for his service to Narcotics Anonymous where he helped newcomers to the group and was a Privilege Card Holder at Cri – Help Inc.
In addition to his parents, Thomas is preceded in death by his brother John Lasater.
Thomas leaves behind his loving wife of 23 years, Diane Lasater; a loving younger sister, Cathy Carlson; aunt, Orin Kotula; five nieces and nephews Grace Babbes, Micheal Kaiser, Cooper Babbes, Melissa Kaiser, and Chloe Brown; two sister-in-laws Lauri Kaiser and Keri Tombazian Babbes; one brother-in-law, Mark Tombazian; and his dear friend and brother, Marvin Plotkin.
When Diane brought Thomas around the family everyone took to him immediately. Tom and Diane went to Lauri's house for Thanksgiving dinner at the beginning of their courtship and little Melissa came out of her bedroom and ran straight into Tom's lap. At that moment Diane knew this was the guy, a keeper. Tom's shining moments were when he worked as a caseworker at Cri-Help Inc and as a mental health worker at San Fernando Valley Mental Health.
Throughout Diane and Tom's marriage he grew as a man and a human being. Thomas lived by the principals of Narcotics Anonymous, honesty, integrity, and respect to all.
I could go on and on, however, Thomas would not like a lot of bragging about himself. So, I will close with this, Thomas loved the life he and Diane made for themselves moving to South Carolina 11 years ago. They finally had a beautiful life, and we had plans for the next 10 yrs or so, however, that was not meant to be. One last little story. Tom started staying at Diane's apartment, after a month or so he says " this apartment is a dump, let's buy a house together. Diane thought about it, recognizing Tom was a man of integrity and if the relationship fell apart, he would do the right thing about finances, so she said OK. That Christmas Tom gave Diane an id bracelet, on the inside was inscribed "MARRY ME?" The rest is history. The Guys from the Cigar Lounge came to be like brothers to him, he would say "Those guys really like me, I don't know why but they do." "I'm so glad he had you men as friends" he'd say, they are retired cops and I'm the retired crook.
A Celebration of Tom's Life will be held on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 12:00 PM at Goodfellas Cigar Lounge, 3100 US 17 Business, Suite E, Murrells Inlet, SC 29576.
The family would like to give a special thanks to Tidelands Hospice, especially nurse Laura and social worker Lisa for their compassionate care.
Burroughs Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Murrells Inlet (843.651.1440) is assisting the family.
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