Section: 327S Lot: 36 Grave: 3

Obituary

Thomas Dean “Tom” Schnirring, 70, of Burlington, passed away peacefully at home at Sunnybrook Assisted Living on October 23, 2020.
Tom was born August 3, 1950, in Storm Lake, Iowa, to Wilbur and Jacquelyn (Battern) Schnirring, and had been a Burlington resident since 1958. He graduated from Burlington High School in 1968, and received degrees from Southeastern Community College in 1970 and Western Illinois University in 1986. In 1975 he married Donna Miller, later divorcing. He was employed for over 37 years at Champion Spark Plug before retiring in 2009. Post-retirement, he discovered a love for substitute teaching in the Burlington area school system and also served as a tutor and a mentor to many students on the side.
Tom was an active member of the First United Methodist Church in Burlington, where he operated the sound system, attended the Methodist Men group, and provided the quirky voice of Phil the Camel in the church’s puppet group. He was a member of the Burlington Golf Club, the Des Moines County Humane Society (where he served as treasurer on the board for many years), and also taught Junior Achievement.
Tom loved Iowa, anything Iowa-related, and especially Northwest Iowa, or “up home”. He loved to drive, and enjoyed travel, with a lifelong love of airplanes and trains. His favorite places to visit were the state historical museums and archives in Des Moines, and of course, Lake Okoboji. He was happiest at the lakes.
In 2014, Tom was sidelined after a stroke left him with limited use of his left leg and no use of his left arm. Unfortunately, that stroke took away Tom’s ability to drive, and limited his chances to travel, to teach, and to live his life to the fullest, but he rarely complained. He moved into Sunnybrook Assisted Living and become part of its family of residents and staff.
Tom was grateful and humble, rarely complained, and believed that life is a gift from God, meant to be lived to the fullest. He relished sharing life with friends and family and everyone he met. No one was a stranger to Tom, and he was proud to provide enrichment and love to the students he encountered. He often said “If I can’t have fun, it’s not worth doing.”
Some of Tom’s favorite memories revolve around cars-reminiscing with the cousins about “Grandpa’s old Merc jalop,” or cruising around with Mark Smith in Mark’s Chevy Bel Aire. Tom’s prized possession was a framed photo of his grandfather’s old Studebaker, which he will be buried with at his request.
At Sunnybrook, Tom was known as “Bingo Tom”, calling bingo in his booming voice twice a week and being silly. He also hosted a trivia game and loved to travel to different assisted livings to compete in Wii Bowling tournaments. He loved it when members of the community and local businesses would come to Sunnybrook to bowl with the residents.
Tom leaves behind one sister, Jean and her husband Peter Bystol, and their son, Tom’s nephew Liam, age 15, of Rosemount, Minnesota; as well as cousins on both the Schnirring side and the Battern side, many of whom Tom considered his brothers; and his best friend Beth Benzkofer-Kozitzka of Mankato, MN.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and one sister Ann Millar, and her husband Dan.
Due to COVID, there will be no formal service, but a brief graveside gathering, socially distanced, will be held at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, October 28th at Aspen Grove Cemetery. Tom will be buried near his parents. The Rev. Melisa Bracht-Wagner will officiate.