Thomas W. Rivet of Heuvelton passed away peacefully after a long illness on Thursday (October 17, 2019) at the age of 73. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00am on Tuesday (Oct 22, 2019) at the St. Raphael's Catholic Church in Heuvelton with Rev. Kevin O'Brien officiating. Entombment will be at Foxwood Memorial Park.
Surviving is his wife Jane of Heuvelton; a daughter Vicki (Eric) Ibison of Parker, CO; a sister Lillian Lytle of Heuvelton; a daughter in-law Lois Rivet of Vernon, CT; three grandchildren Thomas Rivet, Jane Ibison and Kamie Ibison along with many brother and sister-in laws.
Mr. Rivet was predeceased by his son William Alonzo Rivet, who passed at the age of 41 of brain & colorectal cancer and his parents William F. Rivet and Bernadette (Poole) Rivet.
He was born on March 26, 1946 in Ogdensburg, NY. He graduated from Heuvelton Central School and attended Mohawk Valley College in Utica first, then he joined the US Naval Air Force. After the Navy, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree from DeVry Institute in Chicago, and earned Deans list while working to support his family.
Tom’s first real job was at Hammond Organ Company where he started as a technician while attending DeVry. Upon graduation he was promoted to Engineer and finally Managing Engineer. After 14 years, Hammond closed down, and he took a job back home as a Manager of Research and Development for Mitel Incorporated in Ogdensburg. There he advanced to Director of North America and Pac Rim R & D offices. Mitel later hit hard times and was closing offices, so he moved to Certelecom Laboratories, a compliance testing laboratory.
His lifelong fight with arthritis caught up with him, and soon after Certelecom moved to Texas. He stayed behind as a consultant for two more years while they found the personnel to replace his now unique worldwide experiences. He retired after those years, and went on disability where his faithful wife became the major breadwinner.
Tom lived out his remaining years in the semi-comfort of retirement, and his life goals were to give back to the world, some of the good it had provided him by volunteering to help others in any way he was capable of.
Tom and his wife were happily married for over 51 years and lived in Coronado, CA; Chicago, IL and lastly outside the village of Heuvelton, NY. Overall, Tom says it’s been a great life, even if pretty rocky toward the end…. Memorial contributions can be made to the SPCA or Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Lawrence Valley. Condolences and fond memories can also be shared at www.foxandmurrayfuneralhome.com.
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