Thomas E. Van Deven Obituary (1951 - 2017)

Thomas E. Van Deven, 66, of Normal, passed away at 1:45 p.m., Wednesday, October 4, 2017 at his home.His funeral Mass will be at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at Epiphany Catholic Church, Normal with Rev. Eric Powell officiating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 p.m., Monday, October 9, 2017 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington with a Rosary service at 7:00 p.m.Memorials may be made to the Gastric Cancer Foundation.Tom was born January 20, 1951 in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Francis Henry and Florence Gloria Hass Van De Ven. He married Mary Catherine Bellino on March 26, 1977 in St. Louis, MO. She survives.He is also survived by two sons, Robert (Angela) Van Deven of Heyworth and Thomas Van Deven of Pittsfield, MA; two grandchildren, Mackenzie and Gianna Van Deven; his mother, Florence Vandeven of Rolla, MO; a brother, Frank (Peggy) Van Deven of St. Paul, MO; a sister, Linda (Bill) Sands of Rolla, MO and a sister-in-law, Agatha Van de Ven of Weaverville, NC. He was preceded in death by his father, a brother, Stephen Van Deven and a son, Garret Thomas Van Deven.Tom received a degree in Accounting from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. He retired after many years as a Certified Internal Auditor for the US Department of Energy. In spite of the challenges of the job, he persevered to support his family and stressed to his family that they pursue a career that they love.Tom was a devoted baseball coach and was inducted into the Westmont Youth Baseball Hall of Fame for his many years of coaching. Since his youth, Tom was an avid outdoorsman. He enjoyed fishing and hunting with his family, friends and Beagles.Tom had a strong faith and served as a greeter at Notre Dame Parish in Clarendon Hills. Here in Normal, he served as captain of his Neighborhood Watch program and was loved and respected as such.Strong values were very important to Tom and he instilled in them a strong work ethic and timeliness. He prayed his boys and grandchildren be strong and true and keep the faith.