Thomas "Tom" L. Hearne Jr.

Thomas (Tom) L. Hearne Jr. was born July 28, 1938, to Thomas L Hearne Sr and Mary Louise (Pharo) in Weatherford, Texas. He died May 24, 2022 at Fredonia Regional Hospital, with his daughter Terisa and his friend and longtime family physician Dr. Tonya Hill by his side.
After graduating from high school in 1956, he attended Texas Tech for two years. He later joined the US Army and served from 1962-1965 as an automobile mechanic. His service included one year in Bamberg, Germany, which he talked about so often, always wishing to return there.
He then moved to Douglass, Kansas where he met 19-year-old Connie Bowers in the diner across the street from the newspaper office where he worked. They married later that year on October 25, 1965.
Tom and Connie had a daughter, Terisa, in May 1967; the family moved to Wichita where he worked for IBM for several years before moving to rural Wilson County in 1976. Tom and Connie built their home, where they remained until 2016 when they moved to Fredonia.
While living in Wilson County, Tom worked for Wally Ferguson's dairy, A & L TV for August Wacker and retired in 1998 from Fredonia Regional Hospital where he worked in the Maintenance Department.
Tom was a nature lover, bird watcher, flea market fanatic and collector of all things related to centennial memorabilia for cities in Kansas.
Tom is survived by his brother John David Hearne, Ft Worth, Texas; a niece, Shannon Cochran-Yzquierdo; daughter, Terisa and her husband David Martin, Fredonia; grandchildren, Drew Martin, Kourtney Loomis and husband Russell, Savanah Stephens, and Kaitlyn Hendry and husband Mikey; and four great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife Connie in 2020.
Cremation has taken place; because COVID prevented holding a memorial for Connie, a combined service for both Tom and Connie will be held at a later date. Wickham Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A memorial has been established with the Wilson County Historical Society.