Nessa, Thomas Franklin (1940-2017)

NESSA, MERCIER, STRAWN, HARDY, HALL, PRELIP, HORNER, FREESEMAN, HOOPER

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 9/1/2017 at 15:39:53

Thomas Franklin Nessa
August 17, 1940 - August 11, 2017

After a lengthy illness, Thomas Franklin Nessa, 76, of Forest City, Iowa, passed away on Friday, August 11, 2017, at the Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt, Iowa.

The youngest son of Herbert and Ona Nessa, Tom was born on August 17, 1940, in Forest City, Iowa. He had five siblings, Pauline, Bob, Sally, Mary, and Gloria. He attended Forest City Schools, graduating in 1959. Then, he joined the Marine Corps. Always very proud of his service, he was discharged in San Diego in 1963. Next, he remained in California to work on the Apollo Space Program at the Rocketdyne Space Division in Van Nuys, California.

Several years later, he was employed by Control Components, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company in Irvine, California. After working there for over thirty years, he retired in 2001. An avid Golfer, he, with luck, managed to hit two holes-in-one over the years. While working, he traveled extensively and always felt delighted to play on some exceptional courses around the world.

Tom met his wife, Patricia, in California. They married in 1964. After spending their entire married life in Southern California and Las Vegas, they, happily, retired to Forest City in 2007. Recently, they celebrated their fifty-third wedding anniversary.

Tom is survived by his wife, Pat; his daughter, Sherry (Jeff) Mercier, of Kingman, Arizona; his grandson, Thomas Strawn, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; four granddaughters: Brittany (Mark) Hardy, of Menifee, California, Tara Strawn, of Las Vegas, Nevada, Tristian Hall, also of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Augenet Horner, of Medford, Oregon; two great grandchildren, Alexis (8) and Noah (2); the only sibling in his mother’s family, his Aunt Nelda Prelip, of Kanawha, Iowa; eight nieces; and six nephews; as well as by many great nieces and nephews. Lastly, he leaves behind his beloved dogs, Missy and Teddy. Tom’s grandchildren were the light of his life, and he traveled as often as possible to spend time with them. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Herb and Ona Nessa; his daughter, Suzanne Horner; and his sisters, Pauline Freeseman and Gloria Hooper.

Memorial Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on August 26, 2017, at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Forest City. A Celebration of Life will, immediately, follow at the Bear Creek Golf Club in Forest City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of North Iowa; the Forest City Education Foundation; and Winnebago County Relay for Life.

“Tom always followed his dreams, never the rules.”

Cataldo Schott Funeral Home, Forest City, Iowa, 2017.

Winnebago Obituaries maintained by Cheryl Siebrass.
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