Thomas Walter Reynolds

Thomas Walter Reynolds , 93, of Romeo, Michigan, passed away on December 23, 2023 after a brief illness. He was ready to go home to be with his Lord.

Tom was born on December 31, 1929 to Joseph and Ruth Reynolds in Detroit.

Although it was a low income family, he and his brother were able to attend Catholic school via scholarships. Cow’s tongue or Spam were frequently on the dinner menu at home. Their apartment burned down one icy winter and the family had to move in with relatives for a while.

In his teens Tom, his friend Emil and other friends spent hours fishing in various lakes in and around SE MI. He and Emil were also very interested in planes and flying. They spent hours making and flying balsa wood planes.

Tom graduated from East Detroit High School in 1948, went into the US Navy from 1952-54, then met his future wife Chistine (through her brother Emil), and they were married in 1956. Together, Tom and Chris had three children, Shelley, Patrick, and Thomas.

Before they married, Tom, Christine and friends enjoyed driving out to various lakes in Oakland county to picnic, go swimming, and enjoy the day. He and Christine were close with Marge and Don Hagen, friends from high school, and their friendship continued their entire lives.

In the Navy Tom traveled the world. He said the first time he ever had steak was in the Navy, where supply ships would pull alongside his assigned vessel and boxes of steaks and other good food were transferred on board.

After completing his enlistment he returned to Detroit and initially worked as a draftsman, then moved into automotive sculpture and design where he worked for Chrysler Corp as an industrial clay modeler for 44 years. His specialty was car interiors including dashboards and door panels. He was such a talented artist and could make any drawing come alive.

Around 1967 the family moved to the Romeo area. Tom was a dedicated husband and provider for the family. He got up at 4:15 am daily to commute to Chrysler in Detroit, and also worked overtime on Saturdays to help the family get ahead.

On weekends he and Chris loved to have the extended family over for food, and the adults would chat for hours while all the kids played outdoors.

Dad accepted Christ as his Savior when in his 40’s at a Baptist church on 32 Mile Rd in Romeo, and his faith was very important to him. He loved to talk about Jesus. He studied the Bible daily, had a strong prayer life and also discipled various people who came across his path.

In their later years Tom and Chris liked the serenity of their house and enjoyed watching the wildlife that came around the house they had built in 1967.

After retirement in 1999 Tom enjoyed working in his garage and creating things such as a heated cat hotel for the cat to sleep in on the front porch. He also was constantly fixing things around the house. In later years he took care of wife Christine through her long illness.

He made friends wherever he went including at the post office, township offices and Meijer’s, where when shopping with him Shelley discovered he knew the names of all the people behind the meat counter & bakery, what their kids were doing and what was going on in their lives. He was very social and had friends all over.

Tom remained as sharp as a tack into his 90s, and fairly technologically savvy. He could text like someone decades his junior and he and Siri (the phone assistant) were tight. He loved discussing various subjects at the dinner table with anybody that would take the bait. Working in the auto industry fostered a love of cars, and he delighted in attending the occasional car show. Being a lifelong learner, he enjoyed going down to the neighborhood library to peruse the books on sale and to chat with the librarians. He bought many used books with the hopes of learning a new language, math, philosophy, or passing them on to someone he had in mind.

He left the family with many happy memories. Shelley remembers that he used to read the “funny papers'' to her while she would sit on his lap, listen, and follow along. Their time spent reading Blondie and Dagwood, Alley Oop, and Nancy helped her learn to read later on. Grandson Sam can recall how Grandpa used to sit on the floor with him to play with Thomas the Tank Engine, and Legos.

It was very important to Tom to make sure people had warm coats and gloves. He also had the gift of help and would let Shelley’s dog out or feed the horse when necessary. He was pretty facile with a cell phone and laptop, earning the moniker “Cyber Dad.” He FaceTimed with Shelley nightly and sometimes twice a day.

Tom was predeceased by his beloved brother, James (Jim) Reynolds, and his wife, Chris. He is survived by daughter Shelley; son Pat; son Tom and his wife, Jamey; and their son, Sam.

Visitation will be held on Friday, January 5, 2024 from 4-8pm at the Henry M.Malburg Funeral Home in Romeo.

Funeral will be on Saturday, January 6, 2024 with a visitation from 10-11, followed by a service beginning at 11am.