Thomas Gansen
July 1, 1944 ~ August 9, 2008
Thomas E. (Tom) Gansen, age 64 of New Hampton, IA died Saturday, August 9, 2008 at his home.
Thomas Edward Gansen was born July 1, 1944 at Elma, the son of Elmer and Rosella (Frank) Gansen. He was a 1962 graduate of Immaculate Conception Academy in Elma. After graduation, he worked at Oliver Farm Equipment in Charles City. On October 19, 1968 he was married to Dianne (Diane) Fitzgerald at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. In 1969 Tom went to work for Woolco Dept. Store in Cedar Falls until 1971 when he became employed by Tonys Pizza in Washington, Iowa, as a route salesman. In 1977 he and Dianne moved to New Hampton where they operated the Gambles Store until November of 1980. He then worked for Hillendale Farms until 1984 and then was employed as a representative for Advantage Sales and Marketing until the present.
Tom was a member of Holy Family Parish St. Joseph Center. He had held the position of New Hampton Community School Board member for nine years and served on the New Hampton Planning and Zoning Commission. He was also a member of the Iowa Army National Guard from 1964 to 1970.
Tom is survived by his wife of 40 years Dianne; two daughters, Angela Carpenter of New Hampton and Jennifer (Yiloiz) Santiago of Ankeny; two sons, Scott (Sheyanne) Gansen of Menasha, WI and Ryan (special friend Jenilee Holstein) of West Des Moines; six grandchildren Austin and Emma Carpenter, Victoria (Tori) Eschweiler, Jacynda Santiago and Gage and Pierce Gansen; one brother Norbert (Mary) Gansen of Fredericksburg and a sister- in- law Sharon Gansen of Elma.
He is preceded in death by his parents and a brother James Gansen.
Tom lived for his family. He was proud of his childrens accomplishments and his six grandchildren lit up his heart. In his spare time Tom loved to golf, coffee with his friends and woodworking in his shop. He especially loved spending time with his loving wife.
Memorials:
Memorials may be directed to the family
Cemetery:
Interment will be in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery with Eddie Gansen, Doug Gansen, Jason Rasmussen, Laverne McGrane, Mike Meirick, Doug Golden and Al Morris as casketbearers. Honorary bearers will be special friends, golf friends and his morning coffee crew.
Visitation:
Visitation will be from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at Conway-Kolbet Funeral Home in New Hampton with a 4:00 pm Rosary and a Scriptual Wake Service at 6:00 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Wednesday.
Service:
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30AM on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at Holy Family Parish, St. Josephs Center in New Hampton with Msgr. Carl Schmitt and Father John Barnes as celebrants. Dianne and Toms children will place the pall. Dick Taylor and Donna Dietzenabch will be eucharistic ministers. Gift bearers will be Victoria Eschweiler, Austin Carpenter, Yiloiz Santiago, Sheyanne Gansen and Jenilee Holstein. Lector will be Pam Pickar. Mass servers will be Brian and Garrett Minear and Tracy and Alissa Hageman.
View current weather.
Memories Timeline
Guestbook
Sign the Guestbook, Light a Candle
Diane and Angie, My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time of sorrow. Tom certainly fought it with all he had. May the memories of the good times comfort you now. I am here for you if you need me. Linda Tiemessen
Diane-I am so very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I am so very sorry, you have my sympathy. Keep strong!
I am very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with your family. Jennifer keep strong and as always your friends are here for you.
Our hearts ache for you and your family at this difficult time. Tom has been so courages in his fight for life. His friendship has made an everlasting impact on our lives. We will miss his smile and good sense of humor. We ask God to please give the Gansen family strength and understanding in the days to come.
To all of the family We are so sorry to hear of your loss of your love one Tom. He is with the Lord now and may all yiour wondrful memoires get you thru this difficult time. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as we extend our deepest sympathy.
We are so sorry for your loss. May happy memories keep him in our hearts and minds forever. Love to all Mike and Bev Meirick and family
Angie, I was so sad to hear that your Dad passed away. He was a wonderful person! I always had a good laugh with him when he was in at Hy-Vee. He was my favorite salesman. He always had a smile on his face and most importantly he made people smile! His heart was genuine! I will truly miss him. I plan on coming tomorrow and hope to be able to see you. God Bless your family Dawn
Dear Diane and Family You have our deepest sympathy.
Diane Family, I am so sorry for your loss, please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I am out of town on business so I will be unable to attend the services. Kari Kennedy Huffman
Diane and family, I am so sorry to hear about Tom. There are no words to make things better, but know that friends are thinking of you and your family. My thoughts and prayers are with you all Mary Jane and Randy Leach
Diane and family, We are so sorry to hear of the passing of your husband and father and grandfather. We are friends of Angies since Julies first year of MDA camp about 12 years ago. There are no words that will express our deep sympathy for all of you. Julie and I(Nancy) will try to make it to the wake service. Of course she will be bringing Logan. Again at this time we will be keeping all of you in our hearts and prayers. May his soul rest in peace. And may all of you find comfort in the memories you were able to share with him while he was here with you. Nancy Knight
Diane and family. You will be in our thoughts and prayers. Love the memories and the good he brought to others. Celebrate, Remember and Fight Back.
Diane, Angie, Jennifer, Scott and Ryan, Words cannot express our feelings of sympathy for you at this time. Tom was such a special person, and a great friend to my father. I will always remember his kind heart and warm smile. He will be greatly missed. We are thinking of you and hold your family close in our prayers.
I am so sorry for the loss of your husband, father, grandfather. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family! Heather Miller
I am so sorry for your Loss of both Husband and Father, Tom was a great man, I enjoyed always being around him at Store sets and just running in to him at different stores.He is the true meaning of a gentleman. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the Family and relatives of Tom. Sincerly Joel R Schultz Winthrop, Iowa
I am so sory for your loss. You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
I was so sorry to hear about your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Jennifer – the staff are all thinking of you and our hearts go out to you and your family. Take care.
Im so sorry for your loss. Jennifer, we are thinking about you and your family.
Im so sorry for your loss. My thought and prayers are with you and your family.
Jenn and family, Our deepest sympathy on the loss of your dadTom. Know we are thinking of you and your family during this difficult time.
Jennifer – I am very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Emily Kehoe (Wellmark)
Jennifer and family, My heart goes out to you during this difficult time. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Jennifer-My prayers are with you and your family. Take it one day at a time.
My sincerest condolences to your family in this time.
Our heartfelt sympathy and prayers are with you and your family. Tom touched so many through his life, whether just with a smile or a pat on the back, he was a good Christian man. Larry and Marcia
Thinking of you at this tough time. Hugs, Love and Prayers go out to the family. I wish I could be there to offer my support. Love, Amy, Luis and Ethan
To the entire Gansen family- I am passing the deepest and most sincere sympathies at this time. Know that God will take care of Tom and he will always be with you in mind and soul. May God bless a truly great family.
We are so sorry for the passing of Tom, may you always remember all the good times that you all have shared with your husband, and father, and grandfather. He is now pain free and watching over all of you while sharing a cup of coffee with the lord. Keeping your family in our prayers. Jim,Lynn,Kylie and Kaitlin Drechsel
We are so sorry for your lose. Tom was a good freind and was very helpful to my Mother when she needed it. He will be missed but I will always remember his smile and his helpful hand.
We are so sorry for your loss, our hearts go out to you From Friends and family at bed bath beyond
We are so sorry to hear of the passing of Tom. He fought a great battle and now he is home with his maker. May the Lord give you strength and comfort in the days to come. God Bless, Ron Norma Leibold
We are so very sorry to hear of your loss. We have many great memories of Tom, Diane and family during our years in New Hampton. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.
We are very sorry to hear of your loss. Tom always had a smile on his face and was such a kind man. Please know that you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
You family is in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. I am truly sorry for your loss. Cherish the wonderful memories you had together.
AngieIm at a loss for words to help you through this time. Just know Im thinking of you and your family!
DIANE I AM SO SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. TOM WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST PEOPLE I EVER KNEW ALWAYS HAD A POSSATIVE ATTITUDE EVEN WHEN THINGS WERE TOUGH TOM WILL ALWAYS BE MY HERO I NEVER KNEW HIM NOT TO HAVE A SMILE ON HIS FACE OR A LAUGH OR TWO TO KEEP THE WORK DAY SUNNY WE WILL LOVE HIM,ALWAYS AND REMEMBER HIM ALWAYS THANK YOU FOR SHARING HIM WITH US
Diane and family – So sorry to hear about Toms passing. It is hard to believe your family has been away from Washington for 30+ years. You still have lots of friends here in Washington. We enjoy reading your letters at Christmas time to know what your kids and grandkids are doing. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you in this very difficult time. Sincerely, Julie (Vittetoe) Vogel
Diane and family – Im so sorry to hear about your loss. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Diane and Family, We were sorry to hear about Toms passing. We will keep all of you in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. He was a great person. I still remember the “Tonys Pizza Man” stopping by our farm house. God Bless- Jeff, Jan, Austin, Ryan, Nicole
Each of you has my deepest sympathy for your loss of Tom. This journey of life is not always easy for us, and I can appreciate that it was not easy for his familiy members either. May God bless each of you and your families and may your of Tom memories stay in your hearts forever.
I am so sorry for you loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Im so sorry for the loss of a great man. Tom was always had a smile for everyone. Regardless of how long it had been since your last visit with him, he made you feel like it was just yesterday. It was an honor to know him, he will be missed.
Our deepest sympathy for your loss. I knew Tom from Hy-Vee, were he called on us.
Sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that the comfort you provided our Mother, Dorothy Schmidt, will forever be remembered. We hope you receive the same unselfish comfort of a neighbor too. God Bless and may your memories bring you peace. Bob, Mary (Schmidt), Jayme and Matthew Allen
Tom, it was good working with you meeting you so many years ago..well be praying for you..you wont be forgottenGary Busche
We knew Jim (Sharon is my 1st cousin) and are saddened to know that the Lord has taken his brother home early. I too enjoy my coffee group of 40 some years and know that Toms friends will miss his input each day as they solve the worlds problems. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you send your father, husband, friend Home. He has completed his mission here on earth and will be remembered for his life contributions and love.
Diane and Family-We will sadly miss visiting with Tom at McDonalds occasionally., comparing notes. We know he was a great husband and father and he is now at peace with the Lord. We extend our heartfelt sympathy knowing you will get through this trying time. Love, Maxine and Skeeter Skoda
Dianne and Family, I just heard the news today of Toms passing. I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to you all. Even though I havent seen any of you for many years I think of you often. May god continue to bless you during this difficult time. Sincerely, Bruce and Jean (Vittetoe) Tucker
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you today as you say farewell to a wonderful man. I wish I could be there with you. I will write more later. Take care. your cousin.
We send our heartfelt sympathy to you and your family Dianewe were out of town and are sorry that we missed his services, but know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. God Bless. Jack Nancy Anderson
Dear Diane and family, Toms courage and determination made him a role model to all who have been touched by cancer. He will always be remembered for his kind and gentle spirit, love of family and life itself! You are in the thoughts and prayers of our entire community and all who loved him. We have been blessed for having Tom in our lives. With sincere sympathy friendship, Francie Crawford
Diane and family, we extend our deepest heartfelt sympathy. Tom will truly be missed by many as he touched so many lives. Cherish your memories. Tom, your husbanddadgrandfather will forever be watching over you. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and may God Bless you. Don, Pat, Chance Johnson
To Toms family, The services yesterday were a very special tribute to a kind and gentle man. The scriptures and references to the importance of love were so appropriate. In remembering Tom, we think of his ready smile, his zest for life and his love and caring for family and friends. His death is a loss to our community. Sincere sympathy, Glennda and Wally Murphy
Dianne and family, I am truly sorry for your loss. When we were neighbors, Tom always had a friendly smile and was a very pleasant person to talk to. Over the past several years I would run into Tom once in a while at Hy-Vee in CF or in Wtloo. He would always have an upbeat attitude and it was obvious that he was very proud of all of you. You have my thoughts and prayers. Jim Lechtenberg
Jennifer family, Im so sorry to hear of your loss. Tom was always so friendly and had such a kind heart. I have many great memories from when we were neighbors. My prayers are with you and your family.
Diane, Angie, Jenni, Scott, Ryan You have our deepest sympathies at this tough time in your lives. Know that your strength comes from our Lord and Savior. May you all find peace in your hearts and comfort in each other.