SEYMOUR
It is with deep sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Thomas Edward Oktavec, age 76, at his home in Seymour, Indiana on June 23rd, 2024.
Tom was born November 20, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio. He graduated from Valley Forge High School in 1966 and was drafted into the US Army less than a year later. He served heroically from January 1967 until January 1971. Tom’s service to his country included a wartime tour in Vietnam from September 1968 to September 1969. After his honorable discharge from the Army, Tom attained his degree from Cuyahoga Community College and started in earnest what would become a successful management career in the convenience store business, one that would span more than three decades. Tom worked for the likes of Stop-N-Go and Lawson’s in his home state of Ohio before making the move to Seymour, Indiana in 1985 to accept an offer to join Kocolene Marketing Corporation. Tom spent the next 16 years heading up Kocolene’s marketing department. He left Kocolene in 2001 to help run and rejuvenate the Deputy family business. Tom successfully guided the sales and operations of Deputy Electronics until his retirement in 2016.
Tom enjoyed numerous hobbies throughout his life, all of them linked by the common theme of speed. Always a car guy, Tom was into muscle cars and racing as a young man. He developed an affinity for motorcycles in the late eighties, which gave way to an interest in flying private aircraft during the 1990s. Tom’s most recent and most passionate interest came about in 2002 when he purchased his first Corvette. From then on, there would be nothing Tom enjoyed more – apart from time with his cherished family – than going on Corvette cruises and hanging out with his car buddies Bob, Gary, Jimmy, Kevin, Terry, Tim and others.
Tom is survived by his beloved wife of 34 years, Carol (Deputy) Oktavec; his loving son, Thomas M. (Christine) Oktavec; stepsons, Shane (Cathy Tays) Eldridge and Brett Eldridge; grandchildren, Kelvin (Natalie Robertson) Gassion, Jr., Alexis (Brianna) Gassion; Evelyn (Jordan Joseph) Oktavec, and Natalie Oktavec; great-grandchildren, Adam Robertson, Boston Gassion, Jagger Gassion, and Autumn Gassion; brothers and sisters, James Oktavec (Connie Lance Phillips), William Oktavec (Denise), Patricia Oktavec-Armstrong, Joseph Oktavec (Amanda), Rita Carney (James), Ursula Oktavec-Kaunus, Mark Oktavec (Nancy), and Sharon Kinter (Dean); goddaughter, Tarrah Oktavec; uncles, cousins, and many very dear friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, the late Edward and Rita (Taddie) Oktavec; and his great-grandson, Bronx Gassion.
Funeral services for Tom will be held Saturday, June 29, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Rockford Community Church in Seymour, with Pastor Dawn Barnes officiating. Burial with full military honors will immediately follow at Cana Cemetery, Highway 250, Paris Crossing. A visitation will be held at Voss and Sons Funeral Home, 316 North Chestnut Street in Seymour on Friday, June 28 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., and on Saturday at the church from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the service.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions in Tom’s honor to the Rockford Community Church, 1934 North Ewing Street, Seymour. You are invited to visit our website, vossfuneralservice.com, to leave condolences or share a memory.