Obituary
Thomas J O’Toole
A gentle loving soul, Thomas J O’Toole, returned to his heavenly home on December 19, 2021. Born in Louisville, Ky to Martha and William O’Toole, he was one of six children. He was predeceased by his first wife Jenrose Franconia, brothers William Jr and Lawrence O’Toole, sister Miriam Holmes, and stepson Christopher Sparks.
Many of his early years were spent around swimming pools, either as a lifeguard at Lakeside or competitive swimming at St Xavier, where he was a state swimming champion and eventually inducted into the St Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame, along with two of his brothers, Martin and David.
Dr Thomas O’Toole had an award winning, distinguished career in dentistry, which began with his first assignments in the Navy based in Coronado California, progressing through private practice in Louisville KY where he obtained his national board certification, and concluding with many years teaching pediatric dentistry at the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. Thousands of former students and colleagues are better people for having crossed his path. He was truly a role model for those who chose to teach others to foster and care for the future of our society – our children. He was often recognized for his friendship, reliability, professionalism and personal support for his students, and had a special room named in his honor as a reminder of his dedication. His constant positive attitude and smile or a wink as he passed you in the hallway brightened many a day.
Tom enjoyed his Florida life, and his love of the sun, water and golf filled many happy days. While he cherished many life-long friendships back in KY, his most recent years were spent at the retirement community of Cypress Cove, where everyone he met was his friend, and he progressed thru continuing care offerings. The family would like to thank the entire Cypress Cove staff for their loving kindness and professionalism.
Tom is survived by his grateful wife Margo, who was blessed with 14 years of his love, son Thomas Jr (Lee Ann), brothers Martin (Nancy) and David (Judy), stepchildren Paula Thompson (Randy), Greg Sparks (Laura), Beth Wood (David), and many wonderful nieces and nephews, step grandchildren and great grandchildren. Tom would want to include Drs In and Tracy Kim, and their children Maya and Amara, who he referred to as his adopted family, as well as a special mention of Frank Otte (Sheila), close cousin and dearest of friends, who was with him throughout life and near the end.
Leave a reply