Thomas Randall Olerich

Thomas “Tom” Randall Olerich was born on July 13, 1949 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He was the youngest of three children born to Ellwood Olerich and Barbara Melson Olerich, and is survived by his brother, Henry Olerich and sister Sara Schoenfeld Olerich along with his brother and sisters in law and numerous nieces and nephews. He passed away on January 5, 2025, at the age of 75. 

Tom grew up on the family farm outside of Rolfe, Iowa, and always counted those days among the happiest and carefree of his life. He often said he didn’t realize that farming was the work that supported him and his siblings because his dad made every day fulfilling and fun while his mother actually “worked” as a teacher and librarian once Tom began school. 

Tom graduated from Rolfe High School in 1967 and went on to graduate from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa in 1972. It was during his years at Morningside that he made several lifelong friends and met his future wife, Anne ”Annie” Spornitz, the little sister of one of his roommates, Tom Spornitz. They dated briefly while she was a freshman and he was a senior, but rekindled their romance four years later when she was a bridesmaid and he was a groom in her brother Tom’s wedding. They married less than a year later on December 18th, 1976, at Grace United Methodist Church in Sioux City.

While Annie pursued her teaching career, Tom began his work for Cargill International in the Nutrena Feed Division. His background in agriculture led to a successful career spanning 30 years, beginning as a plant supervisor and ending as a Regional Production Manager for Cargill’s Kansas City Nutrena Feed Division. It was during those years that he mentored many individuals getting their start in the feed production business and formed many lifelong friendships with his coworkers. It was also during this time the family would move three times for work and have two sons before settling in Olathe, Kansas and living there nearly 25 years.

While living in Olathe, Tom decided it was time to quit smoking and pursue a healthier lifestyle, which led to the completion of nearly 100 marathons, including 14 Boston Marathons, and culminating with five Ironman and three half Ironman competitions. 

Tom retired from Cargill in 2014, and he and Annie pursued their lifelong dream of building a home and workshop in De Soto, Kansas, a small rural community on the outskirts of the Kansas City Metro area. They were blessed to have nearly ten years of retirement together before a deadly brain tumor cut Tom’s life short. 

Tom is survived by his wife of 48 years, Annie, along with his son Adam, daughter-in-law, Ashley and grandchildren Reid and Maci of Shawnee, Kansas, and son Joseph “Joe”, daughter-in-law Kelsey and grandsons William “Will” and Benjamin “Ben” of Fall City, Washington.

Grandma and Grandpa’s house, known as “Camp DeSoto” created some great memories for their grandchildren including golf cart rides, saucer swings, zip lines, and Ninja Warrior challenges. Rumor has it there was even a werewolf sighting in the woods behind the house!

Although Tom was known to be a man of few words, he demonstrated his love of friends and family through his many acts of kindness and support. He was happiest when he could fix a broken fence or comfort a hurting heart, and was equally good at both. Although not known for quoting the Bible, he lived by these words from 2 Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. 

The family asks in lieu of flowers please consider a contribution to braintumor.org or glioblastomasupport.org.

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