Obituary of Thomas Alan West

To view the livestreamed service, please click HERE

It is with great sadness and immense gratitude for a long life well lived, that we announce the peaceful passing of Thomas Alan West on November 3, 2024 at Viva Retirement Home in Pickering. Tom was the beloved husband and best friend of Marilew West (nee Hahn), loving and devoted father to his two children, Julie Driedger (Bobby) and Tim West (Jennifer), and proud Grampie to his four grandchildren Dylan and Jeremy Driedger and Nathan (Hana) and Hannah (Gord) West.

Tom is survived by his brother Bill West (Gerry), his brothers-in law Jim Hahn (Marianne), Peter Atcheson and Doug Kocher, his Aunt Barbara as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his parents Ruth and Arthur West, his sister Kathie Atcheson, his sister-in-law Judy Kocher, grandson Nicholas Driedger (stillborn) and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

What endeared him to everyone was his great sense of humour, his healthy sense of the funny side of life, his often-corny jokes and his pleasure in bringing a smile or a bit of laughter to a stranger’s face. His warm hugs will be missed by all.

His interests were diverse and involved countless hours of research. They went from collecting, cleaning and classifying animal skulls, photographing and classifying flowers and creating wooden walking sticks. In recent years, Tom spent time researching and identifying common ancestors of famous cousins. A really great day was when he had to choose between watching the Blue Jays, the Raptors and the Maple Leafs.

As a Professional Engineer, he spent many years in the area of building science assessing the condition and life of mechanical and electrical building components as well as working for manufacturers, design-build contractors and property owners.

His retirement years were filled with a life-long interest in genealogy, a commitment to volunteering with seniors and with cancer patients in hospitals, a great love of sports and games of bridge, cribbage and euchre. He always enjoyed a really great day with his wife and many happy occasions with family or close friends.

According to Tom’s wishes, cremation will take place. Thank you to all who cared for Dad during his last days.

Visitation will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Friday November 15, 2024 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

A Celebration of Tom’s Life will take place in the chapel of the funeral home on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 3:30 p.m., followed by a reception in the Fireside Reception Room. 

A livestream and recording of the service will be made available on Tom’s tribute page at www.erbgood.com

In lieu of flowers, condolences for the family and donations to The Canadian Cancer Society, The Mennonite Central Committee, or a charity dear to your heart would be greatly appreciated and may be arranged through the funeral home at 519-745-8445 or  www.erbgood.com.

Our hero will be greatly missed