Thomas Rettig Obituary

Thomas E. Rettig

Thomas E. Rettig lived life with passionate enthusiasm and loved nothing more than sharing his stories and knowledge with others. Born in Findlay on Aug. 18, 1944, to Willard and Betty (Schlack) Rettig, he graduated from Carey High School in 1962. Tom was a proud US. Navy veteran and loved talking about his time serving his country on U.S.S. Forrestal from 1962-1965.

Not long after returning from service, he married the love of his life, Mary (Weaver), at Salem St. Joseph Catholic Church on May 10, 1969. They had two children, Anne Reese (John) and Ryan, whom Tom cherished beyond words.

Over the years, Tom had various careers. Most recently, he retired from Toft Dairy after 25 years as regional sales rep where locally he became known to many simply as "Tommy Toft." Tom was a licensed land surveyor and also worked as tile sales reps for Haviland Drainage and ADS for over 30 years combined. He earned a "2 Million Dollar Sales" award in 1987 at ADS, the only one to accomplish this at that time. In his early days, some of his most memorable jobs were delivering milk bottles for Sani-Pure Dairy, working on the Thomas Family Dairy Farm outside of Carey, and announcing sports and news on the local radio at WYNT. He enjoyed playing music and was a self-taught drummer for the band Nightlife in the early 80s. Even in his final days, he would find something to drum tap on.

Tom was always outdoors. He enjoyed mushroom and arrowhead hunting, meticulously mowing his yard, gardening, fishing, and planting trees. Tom has planted over 500 trees in his lifetime. He also had a true passion for sports and could remarkably recall statistics for any sport in conversation. He was a youth baseball coach for many years. Tom loved golfing with his family and friends at any chance given. On Aug. 27, 2021, Tom had his first hole-in-one on hole #2 at Lincoln Hills Golf Course. Throughout his life, he was a member of Salem St. Joseph Catholic Church, Elks Lodge, American Legion, VFW, AMVETS, and Carey Conservation Club.

Tom joined his son, Ryan, in Heaven at 9:59 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, after complications from a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, Mary, with 53 years of marriage; and daughter, Anne and son-in-law, John Reese of Columbus. He is also survived by many brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews to which he dearly loved, including the entire the Thomas family, Rettig family, Schlack family, and Weaver family.

Services for Thomas will be 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, at Lucas Batton Funeral Home, Upper Sandusky, and will be officiated by Father Conrad Sutter OFM Conv. Wyandot County Color Guard will be conducting military honors. A celebration of life gathering will immediately follow at Elks Lodge #83. Burial will take place at a later date at Oak Hill Cemetery in Upper Sandusky.

In lieu of flowers, the family will be purchasing trees in Tom's memory to continue his love for planting trees and nature. Each tree will be tracked and noted for memorial. Donations may be made to the family or sent to Lucas Batton Funeral Home, 476 S. Sandusky Ave., Upper Sandusky, Ohio, 43351.

Online condolences may be shared at www.lucasbatton.com.