Thomas D. Van Buskirk

Born Thomas Dewey Van Buskirk in Neenah, Wisconsin on November 1, 1940 to his parents Eleanor and Dewey, most of his friends and colleagues would call him Tom. Were you to eavesdrop around a table appointed with all manner of food and drink, you would find yourself listening to his siblings Bob, Joan, David, and Karen sharing stories of growing up on the family homestead in Menasha where his father began Van Buskirk & Sons Nursery – and one of them would surely affectionately call Tom “Tommy.” It is irrefutable that Tommy loved his brothers and sisters beyond measure.

On July 14, 2020, Tom joined his brother Bob, who had passed just one day earlier, in shedding these earthly confines, almost certainly sharing a laugh, a jest, a hug, and some manner of beverage in that great tavern in the sky.

Tom grew up in Menasha where he began his professional career sharing his family’s passion for the nursery business. This connectedness to the earth and working with nature’s palette would manifest itself throughout his professional trajectory. As a teenager, life decided to pit his youthful exuberance against polio which left him hospitalized and ultimately leaving him with a friendly reminder of the experience in the guise of a subtle limp.

Recovered, Tom attended Menasha High School – one the dearest times of his life – where he became class president (Class of ’59) forming lifelong connections with his classmates. He absolutely lived for reunion planning and getting back together with that magical cohort. Born out of Tom’s youth was a lifelong friendship to Carl “Rocky” Jersild and his wife, Marilyn, resulting in a second family for Tom, Lynn, and each family’s respective children.

Having graduated high school and going directly into the workforce, he’d meet Lynn Verbrick whom he married in October of 1962. Tom and Lynn would go on to have Kurt Thomas, Brian George Dewey, and Eric Will – three precocious boys raring to make their lives interesting. Tom loved to spoil his grandkids with both sweets and money. Kurt’s son, Alexander; Brian’s three children Connor, Claire, and Will; and Eric’s three children, Liam, Stella, and Elsa all reaped the rewards of Papa’s indefatigable generosity. His children’s wives, Amy, April, Cyndie, and Leslie, would also be welcomed to the family fold with much celebration and love.

Tom would move from the family business to becoming the superintendent of the City of Menasha’s Parks and Recreation Department as well as the city cemetery. He’d spend 11 years transforming the park system all the while leaving tangible vestiges of his visionary leadership throughout before doing something rather remarkable in early 1980 – leaving the state of Wisconsin for an opportunity to become Linn Grove Cemetery’s Superintendent in Greeley, Colorado.

During Tom’s 30-year tenure at Linn Grove, he transformed the cemetery – both the landscape and its operating model. Never satisfied with the status quo, he tirelessly improved and expanded the cemetery. He developed the cemetery’s pond and raised money for the bell tower. Each year with the help of Lynn and the cemetery’s top-notch staff, he hosted the community for Memorial Day. Beyond presenting an immaculate environment for celebrating lives lost, he’d invite city dignitaries, friends, and colleagues to stay after the service to have breakfast and celebrate.

His accomplishments in the broader industry are too numerable to mention but include serving two years as President of the Colorado Association of Cemeteries (CAC), three years as Vice President, receiving the CAC Lifetime Member Award, national recognition as an industry expert witness, a six-year member of the ACA, and 3-year member of the ICCFA. Most importantly, he developed countless life-long relationships with the men and women he either hired or with whom he worked. You just might have been a seasonal worker for a summer or two only to find yourself becoming Tom’s close family friend and invited to his house for celebrations for the rest of your life.

One of Tom’s favorite things to do was to cook and bake. All manner of carrot cakes, cheesecakes, or roasted meats might find their way to your table on any given day. He loved his neighbors and friends and nothing gave him more pleasure than hosting a party or an ad hoc late afternoon gathering of beverages and snacks.

You needn’t go far to see, feel, or sense his legacy– it’s here in the forever changed improvements to Linn Grove Cemetery, the parks of Menasha, imbued in the trees and the landscaping toiled over with his father and family, in his high-school friendships, the untold number of families he helped in their most dire time of need, in the ever-growing love for landscaping and baking that lives on in his children and grandchildren, and in the memories of so many family milestones.

And yes, dad – we’ll miss your phone calls. Love you.

A service will be held at Linn Grove Cemetery in Greeley, Colorado on July 24, 2020 at 9:00AM. Due to the pandemic, masks and social distancing will be required--the family is adamant about the safety of attendees. A smaller reception will follow for close friends and family. The service will be live streamed for those who cannot travel: ckpmediaservices.com/live

Memorial contributions such as flowers can be sent in care of Allnutt Funeral & Cremation - 6521 W. 20th Street, Greeley, CO and they will be passed along to the family. The family asks that if anyone is considering a charitable donation in Tom's name, to consider a local organization that may want a tree, shrub, or flowers to be planted in his honor.