Thomas B. Culpepper

Tom entered the arms of his loving Savior on his 99th birthday, December 7, 2016, with his four daughters at his side. He was born in Calloway County, Kentucky, the fourth of five children of Joe Ben Culpepper and Bertha Jane (Evans) Culpepper. Growing up he worked on the family’s farm using horse drawn equipment, planting and harvesting tobacco and corn fields by hand, and learning practical carpentry and people skills that would serve him well for a lifetime.

Following high school, Tom and his younger brother, Norman, started a grocery delivery business using a Model A to deliver groceries and other supplies to other farmers who were unable to go into town to shop. Tom entered the Army after World War II began and was sent to Fort Sam Houston in Texas for training. During his training he became seriously ill and had extensive abdominal surgery. Unable to return to combat training, Tom was assigned to run the post golf course where he met his wife to be, Janet Petersen, a dietetics intern from Arnegard, North Dakota. They married on June 27, 1946. Tom and Janet spent the first year of their marriage in Detroit where Tom worked as a carpenter after a brief stint working in a car factory. Their first child, Cynthia, was born there. Tom, Janet and Cynthia then moved back to Murray, Kentucky, near where Tom grew up. Tom built a house for them, and he and Norman built a grocery store and owned a truck they used to haul coal from nearby mines to customers in the Murray area. In 1949, Tom and Janet’s second daughter, Ginger, was born.

In 1952 Tom, Janet and girls moved to Williston, North Dakota when oil was discovered in the area. They found a couple of building lots and Tom started building houses in the booming oil town. Tom would build a house for his growing family, daughter Jenny was born in 1957 and Tami in 1960, and Janet would paint and decorate it. Then they would sell the house and move into the next one, often just partially completed. Over his 38 year building career Tom, aided by his faithful employee, Ozzie, and Janet as his painter and decorator built over 100 houses and was “the” builder of fine homes in Williston. His customers became his lifelong friends.

After retiring in 1980, Tom and Janet traveled the world, including many trips to their children’s homes to work on “projects.” They always left quickly when there was no more work to be done, a lesson in family harmony left to the next generation. A year after Janet’s death in 2005, Tom moved to West Des Moines where he found many new friends and lived until his death. Tom was preceded in death by his wife, Janet, to whom he was married for 59 years.

Tom is survived by his four daughters, Cynthia (Rex) Rickly, Ginger (Terry) Monson, Jenny (Kirk) Hird, and Tami (Jim) Korb, 10 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.

The family gratefully acknowledges the loving care of many nurses and caretakers at Edgewater during Tom’s final days. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Edgewater Scholarship Fund or West Des Moines Christian Church.