Thomas Wayne McElderry

Thomas Wayne McElderry was born to Daniel and Jean McElderry in Providence, Rhode Island on November 25, 1950. He was the third child of seven brothers. After a couple years, the family moved home to Montana. This is where Tom would spend to rest of his life. He lived in many homes between the towns of St. Ignatius, Missoula, and Deer Lodge, Montana. His final childhood home was with the Smith family in Deer Lodge during his senior year of high school while his father spent a short period working in another state. Tom always like to stay busy. He would fondly recount the different sports that kept him occupied in his youth, his favorite being wrestling; as well as his jobs in both the hay fields and spud cellars, especially his work at Frank Lovell’s potato farm. His first career was chosen for him when he graduated high school as he was drafted into the military. He proudly served his country in the army and spent part of his service in Korea during the Vietnam Era. After his time in the army was complete, he enlisted in the Montana National Guard and was honorably discharged twenty years later. During that time, he also spent seventeen years working at the Phosphate mine near Deer Lodge. Tom enjoyed the physical labor and comradery with his fellow miners. The mine eventually closed, and the company paid for him to go back to school. Tom chose to attend the nursing program at Montana Tech in Butte and graduated in 1995 as a licensed practical nurse. He spent the majority of his nursing career at the Montana State Prison, first in the infirmary and then in the mental health department which he had a passion for. Tom met the love of his life, Kathy, in 1992. He saw her walking to work one day and knew he had to meet her. He got her number, asked her out, and the rest was history. Together they had one daughter, Janay. Tom would often tell people his wife and daughter were the best thing that ever happened to him, though they began to wonder about that when his granddaughter Charlotte was born. He was a very proud grandfather. Serving others brought Tom great joy. He always hoped that through him others would be pointed back to Christ. At the time of his death he worked for the Powell County Council on Aging driving the community bus to get people to various appointments, served at the local Elks lodge, and occasionally cooked for the men’s breakfast at the First Baptist Church. Tom went home to be with Jesus on April 11, 2023. He was preceded in death by his father and mother Daniel and Jean McElderry and his brothers Daniel, Glen (wife Terry), and Kenneth McElderry. Tom is survived by his wife Kathy of Deer Lodge; daughter Janay (Garrett) Karnath and granddaughter Charlotte of Butte; brothers Bob McElderry of Omak, Washington, Doug (Roxi) McElderry of Butte, and Jeff McElderry of Butte; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Services will be held at 10:30 on June 3rd, 2023 at First Baptist Church in Deer Lodge, Montana.