1977
Thomas
2013
Thomas Wefald
October 5, 1977 — August 31, 2013
Thomas Olav “Tom” Wefald, 35, was killed in a one vehicle accident in Kings Canyon National Park early Saturday morning, August 31, 2013. Cremation has taken place and a funeral service will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church at 502 North Fourth Street in Bismarck on Friday, September 6, 2013, at 10:30 a.m., with his remains being buried in the North Dakota State Veterans Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. His family will receive visitors and friends at the Parkway Funeral Home on Thursday evening, September 5, 2013, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with a time for sharing from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Weigel Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Tom was born in Williston, North Dakota, on October 5, 1977, and he was placed in the family of Susan, Bob, Sarah and Kate Wefald several weeks later through the good work of Lutheran Social Services. We have always given thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and for his biological parents who brought him to life. Whoever you are and wherever you are, please know that Tom was a good boy as well as a wonderful kind and loving man. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church which was always his church home, and his final services will be held there.
Tom grew up in Bismarck attending Roosevelt Elementary School where Mary Ellen Jesse got him off to a good start as his first grade teacher as she did for his sisters Sarah and Kate. He went to Hughes Junior High and he was a proud 1996 graduate of Bismarck Senior High School. He played saxophone in the band and he was on the soccer team for several years. An avid cyclist, Tom enjoyed riding the country roads of North Dakota. He joined Cub Scout Pack 12 when he entered the second grade and Boy Scout Troop #2 after he received his Webelos Arrow of Light toward the end of fifth grade. In Troop #2, he served in almost all of the leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader, and he developed a lifelong love of camping. He was very proud to have earned his Eagle Scout rank. He attended the Boy Scouts National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia in 1993. In 1995, he attended North Dakota Boys State.
In the late summer of 1995, Tom joined the 191st Military Police Company of the North Dakota National Guard. Following his graduation from Bismarck Senior High School in 1996 he did his basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. As a 27 year Navy veteran, his dad, Bob, was proud to be there to see Tom become a soldier upon his completion of basic training. Tom loved to cook and honed his cooking skills at the Army cooking school at Fort Lee in Virginia. In 1997 he attended Kansas State University where his uncle Jon Wefald was the President. He joined an Army Reserve Transportation Battalion and at his first drill on a Saturday in April 1997 his Command Sergeant Major told them all that she had good news and bad news. The good news was that they were all going to get more pay and benefits; the bad news was that they were all going to Bosnia. Tom spent nine months in 1997 and 1998 serving with his unit in Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia as a Specialist (E-4). He received an Army Achievement Medal for his service. He was a member of Lloyd Spetz Post No. 1 of the American Legion and he loved coming home at Christmas to help with Open Your Heart.
After spending time at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, Tom moved to Denver to work at Oak Express Furniture before he became employed as a manager with 24 Hour Fitness. The fitness industry called him to Monterey, California, in 2006. He loved California and the Big Sur coast where he worked on and improved his golf game. He found his calling in 2007 when he became a caddie at the three Pebble Beach Golf Courses, often riding his bicycle to work. He excelled at being a caddie. He met many interesting people and came away with all kinds of stories. A high point in his career was when he caddied for President George W. Bush’s party in October 2012. He showed President Bush a photo taken in 1982 with him and then Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign stop in Bismarck. When he showed the picture to President Bush, President Bush said, “Let’s upgrade that!” Tom got a great photo of him with the President.
He loved telling stories. He made lots of friends and he kept in touch with so very many of them. Tom had a zest for life and was passionate about many ideas and hobbies. A true “Cheese Head,” Tom followed the Green Bay Packers avidly and had just purchased ownership in their franchise. He enjoyed photography, surfing, rock climbing, skydiving and carving. Recently, he had come out with a line of clothing for golfers called “Scratch Dresser” (a work out shirt for golfers).
Tom loved his family and family vacations, especially the ones at Lost Lake Woods Club in Michigan, with his relatives. Those great times with his cousins and aunts and uncles and his grandparents, while they were alive, were re-lived by Tom again this August when all 29 members of the Benschop family were together again on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. He just so loved being with his Benschop and Wefald families whenever he could.
Tom is survived by his parents Bob and Susan Wefald of Bismarck, his sister Sarah and her husband Jim Miller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his sister Kate and her husband Rob Freeborn of New York City, New York and their children Grace and Andrew, and his God son Logan Vinje of Bismarck. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents Olav and Walma Wefald, his maternal grandparents John and Irma Benschop, and his aunt Ann Wefald. Please no flowers. The family prefers memorials to the Northern Lights Council of the Boy Scouts of America, 1720 Burnt Boat Drive, Bismarck ND 58503, or Trinity Lutheran Church.
Tom was born in Williston, North Dakota, on October 5, 1977, and he was placed in the family of Susan, Bob, Sarah and Kate Wefald several weeks later through the good work of Lutheran Social Services. We have always given thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and for his biological parents who brought him to life. Whoever you are and wherever you are, please know that Tom was a good boy as well as a wonderful kind and loving man. He was baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church which was always his church home, and his final services will be held there.
Tom grew up in Bismarck attending Roosevelt Elementary School where Mary Ellen Jesse got him off to a good start as his first grade teacher as she did for his sisters Sarah and Kate. He went to Hughes Junior High and he was a proud 1996 graduate of Bismarck Senior High School. He played saxophone in the band and he was on the soccer team for several years. An avid cyclist, Tom enjoyed riding the country roads of North Dakota. He joined Cub Scout Pack 12 when he entered the second grade and Boy Scout Troop #2 after he received his Webelos Arrow of Light toward the end of fifth grade. In Troop #2, he served in almost all of the leadership positions including Senior Patrol Leader, and he developed a lifelong love of camping. He was very proud to have earned his Eagle Scout rank. He attended the Boy Scouts National Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia in 1993. In 1995, he attended North Dakota Boys State.
In the late summer of 1995, Tom joined the 191st Military Police Company of the North Dakota National Guard. Following his graduation from Bismarck Senior High School in 1996 he did his basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. As a 27 year Navy veteran, his dad, Bob, was proud to be there to see Tom become a soldier upon his completion of basic training. Tom loved to cook and honed his cooking skills at the Army cooking school at Fort Lee in Virginia. In 1997 he attended Kansas State University where his uncle Jon Wefald was the President. He joined an Army Reserve Transportation Battalion and at his first drill on a Saturday in April 1997 his Command Sergeant Major told them all that she had good news and bad news. The good news was that they were all going to get more pay and benefits; the bad news was that they were all going to Bosnia. Tom spent nine months in 1997 and 1998 serving with his unit in Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia as a Specialist (E-4). He received an Army Achievement Medal for his service. He was a member of Lloyd Spetz Post No. 1 of the American Legion and he loved coming home at Christmas to help with Open Your Heart.
After spending time at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, Tom moved to Denver to work at Oak Express Furniture before he became employed as a manager with 24 Hour Fitness. The fitness industry called him to Monterey, California, in 2006. He loved California and the Big Sur coast where he worked on and improved his golf game. He found his calling in 2007 when he became a caddie at the three Pebble Beach Golf Courses, often riding his bicycle to work. He excelled at being a caddie. He met many interesting people and came away with all kinds of stories. A high point in his career was when he caddied for President George W. Bush’s party in October 2012. He showed President Bush a photo taken in 1982 with him and then Vice President George H.W. Bush at a campaign stop in Bismarck. When he showed the picture to President Bush, President Bush said, “Let’s upgrade that!” Tom got a great photo of him with the President.
He loved telling stories. He made lots of friends and he kept in touch with so very many of them. Tom had a zest for life and was passionate about many ideas and hobbies. A true “Cheese Head,” Tom followed the Green Bay Packers avidly and had just purchased ownership in their franchise. He enjoyed photography, surfing, rock climbing, skydiving and carving. Recently, he had come out with a line of clothing for golfers called “Scratch Dresser” (a work out shirt for golfers).
Tom loved his family and family vacations, especially the ones at Lost Lake Woods Club in Michigan, with his relatives. Those great times with his cousins and aunts and uncles and his grandparents, while they were alive, were re-lived by Tom again this August when all 29 members of the Benschop family were together again on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. He just so loved being with his Benschop and Wefald families whenever he could.
Tom is survived by his parents Bob and Susan Wefald of Bismarck, his sister Sarah and her husband Jim Miller of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his sister Kate and her husband Rob Freeborn of New York City, New York and their children Grace and Andrew, and his God son Logan Vinje of Bismarck. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents Olav and Walma Wefald, his maternal grandparents John and Irma Benschop, and his aunt Ann Wefald. Please no flowers. The family prefers memorials to the Northern Lights Council of the Boy Scouts of America, 1720 Burnt Boat Drive, Bismarck ND 58503, or Trinity Lutheran Church.
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