Thomas F. Recor

Thomas Recor of Troy, Michigan passed away on November 29, 2024, after a long struggle with heart disease. He was 81 years old. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Virginia; his son, Jeffrey; Virginia's sister, Stephanie Wallace; his brother, Mark; his sisters, Judith Boland and Nancy Koenigbauer; his son-in-law, Douglas Czajkowski, and his grandson, Kory Czajkowski. Thomas was predeceased by his beloved daughter, Pamela; and his brothers-in-law, James Koenigbauer and Lee Boland.
Tom was born on December 4, 1942, in Highland Park, Michigan. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods in 1960. In high school, Tom was an accomplished athlete, playing football, basketball and running track. While at Notre Dame, he set track records that remain unbroken to this day.
Tom met the love of his life, Virginia Wallace, in the sixth grade at Guardian Angels Elementary School. Tom went on to Notre Dame and Virginia to Regina High School, then located in Harper Woods. Their relationship evolved into a full-fledged romance in their high school years, and they married in 1963 a few years after graduating.
Tom had a 30-year career in the Circulation Department at the Detroit News. During those years, there were contests to boost newspaper circulation with prizes that included trips. The prizes that Tom won by boosting circulation ignited a lifelong love of travel in Tom and Virginia that took them mostly to Western and Central Europe as well as the Balkans. They once visited Russia.
Ever cheerful, Tom was fun to be around. He easily forged friendships and would do anything to help people out. He had a strong entrepreneurial bent and was an inveterate tinkerer. He could fix anything. He bought a restaurant at age 25 invented a newspaper shooter to speed delivery of newspapers and even went into the popcorn business with his brother-in-law, Lee Boland selling popcorn machines to bars. His optimism and good nature were contagious and indefatigable.
He loved his family and spent many hours with his son-in-law and grandson doing the things that guys do. He loved to watch sports and enjoyed playing golf in his later years, including winter golf trips down south with Doug, his son-in-law and Kory, his grandson. He was well-read and paid attention to politics. He took his civic responsibilities seriously and was a model citizen.
Should anyone wish to honor Tom's memory with a donation, Virginia asks that the donation be made to an organization of the donor's choice that works to make the world a kinder, gentler place.
It is what Tom would have wanted.