Thomas Lee Luiten

Thomas (Tommy) Lee Luiten 63, passed away peacefully on December 10, 2024 in Odessa, WA. Tommy was a lifelong Odessa resident born on October 14th, 1961, to Lois and Dick Luiten and was the youngest of their 3 children. He graduated from Odessa High School in June of 1980 and received his AA from Spokane Community College in 1982. After, he started his employment at Odessa Grange Supply on June 14th, 1982, where he worked until his passing.

Tommy is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Sheena and Kyle Starkel; grandchildren, Henry and Hadley; sister, Debbie (Evan) Schafer; brother Greg (Kellie) Luiten; and 6 nieces and nephews: Jeremy (Melanie), Jake, Megan (Ted), Landon (Kim), Bryce (Mackenzie), and Ireland.

Tommy was a lifelong Odessan, aside from his 42 years at Odessa Grange, he was a volunteer fireman for 13 years. In his younger years, he was an avid gardener and would frequent the park for an evening of volleyball with fellow locals. No matter which stage of Tommy you knew, you couldn’t help but love him. He had a unique sense of humor and you could never anticipate what he was going to say. It always made for memorable conversations with him.

He also loved his family, as a grandparent, he never missed a single birthday or holiday without a card or big bag of Halloween candy and showing off his festive holiday suspenders.

Tommy will be laid to rest in the Odessa Cemetery on January 7th, 2025 at 11am. A celebration of his life will follow immediately at the Old Town Hall. Donations may be made to the Odessa Fire Department.