Lawrence Tomsich

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Lawrence Albert Tomsich, 77, of Missoula passed away at his home on April 1st, 2023.   Lawrence (Larry) Albert Tomsich was born in Butte, Montana on August 12th, 1945 to Al and Mary Tomsich.  Al received the news of Larry’s birth while serving in the United States Army, stationed in the Philippines.  Larry was a Butte boy to the core and his tales of roaming the streets unsupervised are legend.  In middle school, Larry’s family moved from Butte to Hamilton, MT for a short period of time.  While there, Larry’s beloved mother passed away and the family moved to Missoula, MT where he started his sophomore year of high school.  Larry graduated from Missoula County High School in 1963.  Shortly after graduating, Larry joined the Navy, where he served for 4 years.  Larry served 2 years of his service aboard the U. S. S Sargo, a nuclear submarine, with his last year in Hawaii.  While stationed in Hawaii, Larry played on the championship Subpack baseball team, where his stolen third base play won the game and landed Larry in the hospital with a broken leg.  This began a lifetime love of baseball.  During this time in Hawaii, Larry also met his future wife, Pauline Champagne.  Larry and Pauline were married on August 26th, 1967.  After an honorable discharge, Larry and Pauline returned to Montana in the summer of 1968.  They bought their first house, which was located near Bonner Park, got a dog and a freezer, and as they say “life was good”.  Larry started college at the University of Montana in the fall of 1968, within weeks he knew he wanted to be a teacher.  Larry graduated in 3 years with an elementary teaching degree in 1971.  Upon completion of his degree, he was approached about a new “field” in teaching called Special Education.  This was the start to a 40 year career in Special Education at the elementary level, which included Larry returning to school to earn his masters degree.  Mr. T, as Larry was lovingly known, cherished every day he taught.  Mr. T understood the importance of ensuring his students learned skills that would help them live as independently as possible.  Weekly swimming trips, grocery store outings, learning how to budget, cook, trips on the city bus to watch jury trials and construction crews work, were just a few of the adventures Mr. T provided for his students.  One of his more notable accomplishments was taking a Montana delegation of student athletes to the national Special Olympic games in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1983.  Larry also coached Little League baseball for 14 years.  His claim to fame was when the team he coached beat the team the legendary John Elway was playing for in the city tournament.  He used to laugh and say “I made John Elway cry”.  Larry officially retired from teaching in 2011, but stayed involved in the Special Olympics.  Larry was the coordinator for Missoula Elementary students who participated.  Larry particularly loved Bocce Ball, which he was looking forward to helping run at the area games in May.  Larry also volunteered as a driver for Meals on Wheels, where he took extra time to chat with the people he delivered meals to and see if he could do anything for them.  Another one of his favorite volunteering opportunities was at the Butte Folk Festival.  He loved driving the golf cart and helping direct traffic so to speak.  Outside of his volunteering, Larry was an avid sports fan.  Larry played slow pitch softball for 20 plus years with an amazing group of men who became lifelong friends and family.  Many days and nights, Larry could be found watching Grizzly football, Lady Griz basketball or softball games.  When Griz or Lady Griz games did not have him busy, he could be found at high school games or tournaments.  He never passed up the opportunity to attend high school basketball tournaments and would even go as far as to pack a cooler with lunch and watch 6 or 7 games in a day.  He could also be found sneaking onto the football field in an attempt to get the best “spot” to watch the local Missoula teams battle it out.  Larry’s favorite place was his cabin on Elbow Lake.  This was his happy place where he was referred to by other cabin owners as the Mayor.  Never a day went by where he wasn’t on his four wheeler checking on people and making sure their places were ok.  Elbow Lake held a special place in Larry’s heart and many fond memories were made there.  From lake parties with his softball family, to his notorious week long WinterFest gatherings with the guys.  His time spent at the cabin was truly some of his happiest moments, and he loved sharing the cabin with everyone.  Larry was a unique character to say the least.  He loved good deals, garage sales,  and second handing.  He collected rotary dial phones, coins, and tools.  Along the way, he collected people because he would talk with everyone.  If you needed something fixed, a tool or advice on how to do a project, Larry was your guy.  Despite his propensity to never liking something unless it was his idea, Larry relished the idea of any and all family or friend gatherings.  Family and friends were everything to Larry, and while he didn’t always say it, his actions shouted unconditional love.  Dad, Larry, Unc E, Tommy, Mr. T, you’ve had a lasting impact on all of those who have had the honor to cross your path.  You are missed.  Larry was preceded in death by his parents (Al and Mary Tomsich) and his brother-in-law Vern Black.  He is survived by his wife of nearly 56 years, Pauline, and daughter Audrey; sister Joanne Black; niece Lisa Black (Tom, Jack); nephew Dale Black (Cassie, Conner); sister Marlene Hendrickson (John); nephew Brett Hendrickson (Biata); niece Katie Oman (Josh, Maya); cousin Bill Cook (Ann); cousin Marcia Summers (Jim); and numerous other  cousins.  A celebration of life will be on July 22nd, 2023 at the Bella Vista Pavilion, located at Fort Missoula from 6 to 10 pm.  In lieu of flowers for the family, please consider donating to Missoula Aging Services (Meals on Wheels) or Missoula Special Olympics.

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Lawrence Albert Tomsich

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