Thomas J. Churchill (1961-2020)

CHURCHILL, GRUTZ, NELSON, STEVENS

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 7/6/2020 at 12:21:04

Thomas J. Churchill, 59, of the Dominican Republic, formerly of Dubuque, Iowa and East Dubuque, Illinois, died Sunday morning, July 5, 2020, after battling cancer. A memorial mass will be held 10:30 AM Wednesday July 8, 2020 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Tom was born on March 4, 1961. He graduated from Hempstead High School in 1979.
Tom started in radio as an on-air weatherman at WDBQ-AM Radio at the age of 13. He gained notoriety for reportedly being more accurate than the National Weather Service. At 14, he appeared on the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder. He also made an appearance on the television game show, The $128,000 Question, in the weather-related category. He was on Good Morning America, The Tom Snyder Show and KRON in San Francisco giving weather forecasts and filling in for their weather persons.

Tom also wrote software called Digital Weatherman in 1989. This software gave radio stations the opportunity to have real-time local weather forecasts delivered in a natural voice.

Tom is survived by his son, Georan Churchill of Boone, Iowa; two sisters, Jennifer (Gary) Schumacher of Dubuque and Edna (Joe Mooney) Churchill of Nettles Island, FL; his niece, Erin (Mike) Schumacher of Dubuque; and nephew, Noah Schumacher of Muscatine, Iowa.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, John V. “Jack” and Thoma M. “Tomie” Churchill; his maternal grandparents, Clarence “Barney” and Edna E. (Nelson) Grutz; and his paternal grandparents, Victor and Rose (Stevens) Churchill.

Hoffmann Schneider & Kitchen Funeral Home and Cremation Service is in care of the arrangements.

Condolences can be sent to the family by visiting Tom’s obituary at www.hskfhcares.com.