Thomas LeRoy "Tom" Chamberlin 1935 - 2009

CHAMBERLIN, HOLZWARTH, LAVALLEUR

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 8/28/2020 at 20:16:58

Sioux City Journal
17 April, 2009

SIOUX CITY -- Thomas L. "Tom" Chamberlin, 73, formerly of Sioux City, died Wednesday, April 15, 2009, following medical complications that were a result of a fall in March 2009.

Services to honor his memory will be 11 a.m. Monday at Howser-Fillmer Mortuary in Norfolk, Neb. Burial will be in Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery, Norfolk, with military rites. A celebration of life service will be 2 p.m. Saturday at Battle Lake Alliance Church in Battle Lake, Minn.

Thomas Leroy Chamberlin was born Sept. 12, 1935, in Manchester, Iowa, the son of Roy and Bernice Chamberlin of Sioux City. He attended college at the University of South Dakota, where he met his wife of 25 years, the late Norma Jean (Holzwarth) Chamberlin, and settled in Norfolk to raise their family.

Following Norma's death in 1984, he returned to his hometown of Sioux City to be closer to his family. In 1996, he met and married his surviving wife of 13 years, Claudia LaValleur. In 2001, the couple relocated to her hometown of Ashby, Minn.

He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and worked in the retail industry until retiring in 1985. No stranger to community service, he took great pleasure serving his resident communities and helping others. Over the years, he was a volunteer for organizations such as Civil Defense, Norfolk Jaycees, as well as local churches in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. A quiet and honorable man, he never hesitated to lend a hand to someone in need. When not helping others, he loved to fish, cook and take his dog, Gunner, on long walks.

He is survived by his wife, Claudia LaValleur of Ashby, Minn.; sisters, Julia Black and Caral (Duke) O'Hern of Sioux City; a brother, Terry Chamberlin of Granbury, Texas; daughters, Vicki Braunsroth of Yankton, S.D., and Kelly Espensen of Tucson, Ariz.; six granddaughters; a grandson; and seven great-grandchildren.

Tom Chamberlin was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and brother. His steadfast love, loyalty and sense of commitment will forever serve as an inspiration to those he leaves behind. He will be missed far more than words can say.