Mr. Thomas V. "Tom" Konecny, 75, of Granger, passed away following a rather lengthy and courageous battle with dementia and Parkinson's Disease while in the care of the wonderful staff of doctors and hospice nurses at the Center for Hospice Care Raclin House in Mishawaka. Tom remained a consummate jokester even to the end, keeping a smile on his wife's ever-present and watchful face even unto the end. Tom's family also appreciates the love and care given to him throughout his life by the VA.

Tommy was born in Elkhart on March 24, 1948 and was the son of the late Henry V. and Lucille C. "Lu" (Restelli) Konecny. Tom also had 13 brothers and sisters growing up. After graduating Elkhart High School, He made his way into the United States Army, where he served faithfully with the First Infantry Division in a Signal Battalion in Vietnam. While Tom was able to return home from the war to his loving family, he always carried with him the effects of Agent Orange, which affected him while overseas. Despite his tribulations, Tom remained staunchly proud of his military service.

Currently, Tom is survived by his lovely spouse Christine M. "Tina" (Timmons) Konecny who resides at home; his beautiful daughter Courtney (John) Fulton; his sons Christopher T. "Chris" Konecny and Michael A. "Mike" (Kimberly) Konecny; sisters Carolyn (Greg) Blosser, Nina (Brian) Cunningham, , Pamela (August "Gus") Bozzuto, Margaret Ann (Gary) Goodman, and Jennifer (Evan) Martin; brothers Dennis (Catherine) Konecny, Eugene Konecny, Paul (Cathy) Konecny, Jan (Denice) Konecny and Arthur (Phyllis) Konecny, and his most favorite people in the whole wide world, grandkids Kayleigh, Conlan, Payton and Preston. Needless to say, Tom is also survived by a huge and loving host of nieces, nephews, extended family, in-laws and good friends. Also, preceding Tom in death are sisters Patricia Cortas and Mary Walker, and brothers Jerome and Peter Konecny.

Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart is honored to host Tom's memorial homegoing services on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 1:00 pm, with visitation beginning at 12 noon. Family members and friends Paul Muszik and Joe Bradley will officiate the service and provide inspirational music. In accordance with Tom's wishes, cremation has taken place.

For most of his adult life, Tom was a building engineer who designed commercial fire protection and suppression systems for new structures, retiring around 2012. Once out of the career "rat-race", Tom went on to receive his degree in "Papa-ology" and filled his days with loving on his beautiful grandchildren whom he cherished unconditionally. He was also an avid and very talented oil painter and enjoyed painting images of Jesus. He also enjoyed listening to Barbara Streisand and the Beatles (among others), and even admitted a little bit of him died when John Lennon was killed.  Tom was also quite the bibliophile and loved the simplicity of being able to sit down and lose himself in a book or novel. At the time of Tom's passing, he was nearing completion of having read each and every one of the US Presidential Biographies.

As a parting thought, don't let Tom's seeming demure activities lull you into a false sense of unassuming modesty about him.  Tom knew how to get down, and loved to have a good time whether it was with family, friends or both. Tom made a lifelong effort to get to know and love a great amount of family and friends, so how much more blessed can a person be? He would remind us to do our best, follow our dreams, and make something amazing out of our lives. Oh, and never stop smiling or let go of your sense of humor.

Family and friends are invited to browse Tom's obit page at the funeral home's website for further information. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation or to the Center for Hospice Care.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
PO Box 5014, Hagerstown MD 21741
Tel: 1-800-708-7644
Email: donations@michaeljfox.org
Web: https://give.michaeljfox.org/give/421686/#!/donation/checkout

Hospice Foundation
501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka IN 46545
Tel: 1-800-413-9083
Email: info@foundationforhospice.org
Web: https://foundationforhospice.org/donate/