Thomas Carolan

Thomas A. Carolan age 70 of Waucoma, IA, died Friday, January 28, 2022, at MercyOne Medical Center in New Hampton. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 4, 2022, at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church, Lawler, with Rev. Nick Radloff celebrating the Mass. Interment will be at a later date in the church cemetery. Friends may greet the family from 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Friday, February 4, 2022 at the church. Thomas Allen Carolan was born January 1, 1952, in New Hampton, IA, the oldest son of Eugene and Margaret (Schupanitz) Carolan. Tom grew up on a farm south of Lawler with his six younger brothers. He helped his parents with a variety of chores and received his education at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic School before transferring to Fredericksburg High School, where he was a member of the Class of 1970. He attended Luther College for a couple of years before pursuing his love of farming. One night in November 1975, Tom attended a dance at Chip’s Ballroom and met Eileen Langreck. The two hit it off, began dating and were married on Feb. 5, 1977 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. The couple settled on their farm and welcomed three children - Cathy, Chris and Cindy. The three Carolan kids grew up with a father who worked hard and liked to have fun but who also taught them a strong work ethic. Tom loved farming, both working his crops and working with his beef cattle. He gave up the cattle in 2013, but he continued to raise corn and soybeans and was planning his 2022 growing season. He enjoyed taking road trips, especially the one in which there wasn’t a set designation; instead, Tom would “point the car” in a certain direction and see where it would take them. On many of their trips, he enjoyed talking with farmers to see how they farmed in their area. Tom also loved to read - one of his favorite authors was John Sandford - and his home had more books than some libraries. He loved his eight grandchildren and enjoyed giving them Ranger rides or taking them along with him in the combine. Tom was a straight shooter and you always knew where you stood with him, but he loved to have a beer or two and shoot the breeze. He was a wonderful husband to Eileen for more than 44 years, he taught his children valuable lessons they will use for the rest of their lives. He was a faithful steward of the land and he was a loyal friend. In short, he will be dearly missed by many. Survivors include his wife, Eileen of Waucoma; two daughters, Cathy (Randy) Sabelka of Spillville, Cindy (Jeremy) Ott of Waterloo, IA; one son, Chris Carolan of Waucoma; eight grandchildren, Eryn, Nolan & Derek Sabelka, Gene, Ella & Cara Carolan, Keegan & Lexie Ott; five brothers, Steve (Sherri) Carolan of Decorah, Dan (Laurie) Carolan of Lawler, Ron (Tammy) Carolan of Fredericksburg, Terry (Maura) Carolan of Gretna, NE, Mark (Leann) Carolan of Ft. Myers, FL; sister-in-law, Gail Carolan of Waucoma; brothers and sisters-in-law, Rich (Honor) Langreck, Kathleen (Paul) Gnade, Shirley Smith, Doris Mitchell, Joe Langreck. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Gerry; mother and father-in-law, Francis and Katherine Langreck; brothers-in-law, John Langreck & Paul Smith; sister-in-law, Tina Langreck and nephew, Lance Langreck.