September 20 2019
Thomas “Tom” Andrew Yazvac was generous, gentle and a gentleman to the core, a loving father, and a delighted grandfather, but most of all, a devoted husband to his wife of 53 years, Kay Ales Yazvac. He now flies with the angles, his body loosened from the tenuous tether that tied him to this Earth. Tom is free of the debilitating frailties of a body that served for 85 years. He succumbed to liver cancer on September 20, 2019, with family at his side. Tom was born Aug. 17, 1934, in Chicago, Ill., the son of Thomas Yazvac and Josephine Brockovich Yazvac. He graduated from Youngstown State (Ohio) University and served as First Lieutenant in the United States Army at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico. Tom was of Croatian heritage, tall and broad-shouldered, a “big guy.” A talented electrical engineer, he worked for 20 years as product manager at Square D in Cedar Rapids, Ia. He then went to Gould Corp. In Chicago and finally General Electric in Plainville, Conn. He owned several patents and his own company, Electric Power Technologies (E.P.T.). As a young single man, Tom was President of the YMCA in Cedar Rapids. Always gregarious, he also served as President of the C.R. Bachelors’ Club, an organization in the 1960’s where eligible young bachelors invited the prettiest damsels in the city to cocktail parties. There he met Kay Ales, who in today’s parlance was “hot”. He wined and dined her and they were married on a beautiful fall day, Oct. 8, 1966. An avid sports fan, he was a keen follower of his beloved YSU Penguins, the Iowa Hawkeyes, Chicago Cubs and Pittsburg Steelers. Tom’s sports passion was golf where he carried a scratch handicap in his younger days and seemingly could remember every shot he took. Despite his limitations later in life, he still watched golf on T.V. or in person and read up on the latest trends in the sport. He is survived by his wife, Kay, of Granby, Conn., and formerly of Simsbury, Conn.; son Peter of Kearney, Neb.; three grandchildren, Ashley, Gabrielle and Thomas of Odessa, Fla.; a sister, Jeannette of Youngstown, Ohio; daughter-in-law, Angela Yazvac Huber, of Odessa, Fla.; sister-in-law, Norma Graybill, and husband Chuck of Hiawatha, Ia.; plus several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was proceeded in death by his parents; son, Tom Ales Yazvac; and a brother-in-law, Don Ales. Calling hours will be between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Vincent Funeral Home, 880 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury. A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Church, 942 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury on Monday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 AM. Burial with military honors will follow in Simsbury Cemetery. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be given to the American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org , 825 Brooke Street, Rocky Hill, Conn., 06067, or the Arthritis Foundation, www.arthritis.org , 35 Cold Spring Road, Ste. 412, Rocky Hill, Conn., 06067. Please visit Tom’s “Book of Memories” at www.vincentfuneralhome.com for online tributes. Read Less Afficher cette page en : Français Traduire Désactiver pour : Anglais Options ▼
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Thomas Andrew Yazvac September 20 2019.
Death notice for the town of: -, state: Connecticut