Thomas "Tom" Kaye

Thomas "Tom" Kaye, age 74, of Ortonville, MN, passed away on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, at Ortonville Area Health Services Hospital.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at Mundwiler Funeral Home in Milbank, SD. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Pastor Dave Tonn will officiate, and everyone is invited to the Milbank Community Center for a time of food and fellowship.

The service will be livestreamed and recorded and will be viewable at the bottom of this page.

Thomas John Kaye was born on November 8, 1949, in Morris, MN, to James and Luella (Jones) Kaye. He grew up in Morris and graduated from Morris High School with the Class of 1968. Tom was an exceptional football player and was offered several scholarships to play college football. With the looming draft, he decided to join the United States Navy voluntarily so he could choose the field to pursue, working on fighter jets, which he really enjoyed. While in the Navy, he was stationed in Virginia, Tennessee, and Texas.

Following his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1972, Tom moved back to Morris. He worked as a carpet installer for his father and older brother’s store.

On June 19, 1976, Tom was united in marriage with LaVerne Graf at Bethel Lutheran Church in Herman, MN. Together, they raised three children: two sons and a daughter.

The family lived in Morris and moved to Ortonville in 1983. Tom decided to go into business with his brother, Jim. In 1991, Tom and LaVerne bought Jim’s share of the business and together, they worked side-by-side. Later on, Tom and LaVerne’s son Andrew, came to work in the store. In August 2023, they sold the building in Ortonville and moved the business to outside of Big Stone City, SD. It will remain O’Kayes Flooring with Andy at the helm, allowing LaVerne to be semi-retired.

In his leisure time, Tom enjoyed travelling. He and LaVerne took many vacations to the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Rome, Italy. But there was no place like home on Big Stone Lake, where they would often be found sitting on their deck, talking about their day and just enjoying each other’s company. 

Tom is survived by his wife, LaVerne; sons: James (Barbara) Kaye of Clear Lake, MN; and Andrew Kaye of Ortonville, MN; daughter, Jennifer (Tony) Hoffman of St. Cloud, MN; two grandsons, Brodie Kaye and Andrew Repka; brothers: Gary Kaye of Reno, NV; Dick (Fran) Kaye of Morris, MN; Jim (Cheri) Kaye of Ortonville, MN; and Pat (Mary) Kaye of Fargo, ND; along with many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Preceding in his death were his parents; brother, William “Bill” Kaye; parents-in-law: Vernon and Mildred Graf; and sister and brother-in-law, Barbara and Lowell Christians.