Obituary

Thomas Skroski

Thomas Skroski, 60, of Eau Claire, WI passed away Sunday January 18 surrounded by friends and family in his home.
		He was born April 25, 1948 in Milwaukee, WI to Charles and Agnes (Kubczak) Skroski. He grew up in Milwaukee and graduated from Don Bosco High in 1966. He attended UW- Stevens Point and UW- Milwaukee, graduating with a degree in History in 1971. In 1971 he also married his high school sweetheart Maureen (White) Skroski. They joined the National Teacher Corp and taught in Syracuse, NY until 1973. Tom returned to UW- Milwaukee to pursue a second degree in Nursing and graduated in 1978. Shortly after his graduation, Tom and Maureen began their family and had two daughters, Kate and Anne. He also went on to work at Milwaukee Psychiatric Hospital as an RN until 1989. Tom and his family moved to Eau Claire in 1989 when he began working at Luther/ Mayo/ Midelfort in Behavioral Health and remained there until 2005. He also received a Masters in Counseling from UW- Stout in 1997. Tom was a skilled Psychiatric RN whose compassion and calm manner were evident throughout his professional career.


Tom and his family enjoyed the outdoors and spent much of their time hiking, camping, fishing and traveling to National Parks. He enjoyed gardening, bird watching and nature photography. He was a self taught wood-craftsman who spent the past 15 years building a backyard log cabin by hand. Tom was also an avid fan of Blugold basketball and regularly attended games. Family and friends were central to Tom's life and through them he set a wonderful example of love. He will be remembered as an articulate, compassionate, empathetic and gentle spirit. Tom is survived by his wife Maureen; two daughters, Kate (Jeff) Heinecke of Ketchum, ID and Anne Skroski of Portland, OR; grandson, Pete Heinecke; two brothers, Jim (Shirley) Skroski of Oshkosh, WI, Dick (Judy) Skroski of Lake Tomahawk, WI; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Agnes Skroski. A memorial service for Tom will be held at 12pm. on Saturday, January 24, 2009 at Fuller-Speckien-Hulke Funeral Home, 3209 Rudolph Road, Eau Claire. Family and friends may call at the funeral home from 11:00am until the time of service. Memorials are preferred in Tom's name to: The American Brain Tumor Association and Brain Tumor Research at Mayo Clinic. Friends may offer online condolences at www.fullerspeckien.com Fuller-Speckien-Hulke Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.