Thomas James “T.J.” Avery passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 9, 2020 at the age of 45 after battling Pancreatic Cancer. He bravely faced the grim prognosis of the disease with determination, grace, and humor. He was born on November 13, 1974 in Corpus Christi, TX and grew up in Mathis, TX. He graduated from Mathis High School in 1993 and attended Texas A&M University in College Station, TX where we would meet his future wife, Tanya. He graduated Texas A&M in May 1998 with a degree in Ocean Engineering. T.J. and Tanya were married in Del Rio, TX on September 5, 1998 and enjoyed 21 years of marriage before his passing. T.J. was employed with INTECSEA for almost 20 years as a structural engineer and most recently as a subsea structural engineering discipline manager.
T.J.’s passions were his sons, Henry and Michael, tinkering in the garage, building one-of-a-kind Lego creations, and nature photography. For the past 9 years, T.J. taught workshops on nature and night photography in the Big Bend region of Texas, inspiring many photographers and capturing the beauty of the land. TJ was a founding member of the TexLUG group- a Texas Lego users group. His love of Lego spanned over forty years and he never ceased building and creating.
He is survived by his wife, Tanya; sons, Henry (14) and Michael (11); mother and step-father, Margaret and Roy Sugarek; biological father and step-mother, David and Hera Logan; grandmothers, Elizabeth Falk and Carolyn Rittgers; grandfather, Millard Logan; sisters, Sarah (Tim) Palombo, Lacy (Larry) Olson, Alex Logan, and brother Adam Logan; mother-in-law, Dorothy Birkhead; father-in-law, Al Birkhead; brother-in-law, Clint (Michelle) Birkhead; sister-in-law, Kristine Birkhead; nieces, Kathryn Palombo and Charlotte Birkhead; nephews, David Birkhead, Levi Olson, Justice Trainer, and Isaac Palombo. He is also survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends that loved him.
He is preceded in death by his father, James E. Avery; grandparents, Adele and Henry Lyle; and biological mother, Nancy Logan.
Services will be held on Saturday, March 14 at 11:00 A.M. at St. Cuthbert Episcopal Church, 17020 West Rd. Houston, TX 77095. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Big Bend Conversancy: bigbendfriends.org or PANCAN- Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: pancan.org
The family would like to thank the nurses and staff at HCA Hospital in North Cypress and Kingwood for their amazing compassion and support of the family during this difficult time.
We are all blessed to have known such a wonderful, generous, humorous, intelligent, and creative man and our worlds will not be the same without him. As we look to the night sky, we know that he is now among the celestial stars that he photographed so brilliantly.
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