Thomas W. Nibarger

Thomas W. Nibarger, Captain USAF Retired, peacefully departed this earth on Memorial Day May 25, 2020 surrounded by his loved ones at their family home. He is survived by his wife of

51 years, his son Patrick Joseph Nibarger and daughters Suellen (Allison) Vassey and Elizabeth Ann Nibarger (Christoffer Anderson). He also has two grandsons Thomas Andrew (Ashley)

Calvo and Dax Micah Anderson and two great grandsons Colton Thomas and Carson David Calvo.

He was born May 6, 1945 as the 9 th child (of 10) to George Patrick and Pauline Nibarger. His surviving siblings are Betty Young (Redkey, IN), George (Tony) Nibarger (Montpelier, IN), Mrs.

Roger (Sue) Grayson (Marion, IN), and Roger Nibarger (Redkey, IN), and many nieces and nephews. His brothers James Dale Nibarger (died in infancy), Robert Nibarger, Fredrick K

Nibarger, and Richard Nibarger preceded Tom. His sister Virginia Poling passed just 4 days after Tom.

Tom grew up on a farm in Redkey with his siblings, cousins and nieces. He graduated from Dunkirk High School in 1963 and worked at Indiana Glass until Uncle Sam came calling. He was

drafted during the Vietnam Conflict and enlisted in the Air Force for a 4-year tour to fulfill his military obligation. Those 4 years turned into a 25-year long career that took him to places he

never dreamed of seeing and jobs he never dreamed of doing.

He was stationed at Lowry AFB, CO in Aug 1965 for optical electronics training and it was here that he met his future wife, Suezann Schmidtline. In Dec 1966, he first duty assignment took

him to Tehran, Iran for 18 months. He returned to Colorado and soon after married Suezann in summer of 1968.

His career took his family to many places and gave Tom many more opportunities to advance his career. He was selected for the Airman Education and Commissioning Program so our family headed to Tucson, AZ and the University of Arizona where Tom studied Aerospace Engineering.

He graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering in 1979 and also received his commission to 2nd Lieutenant.

He went on to serve as Operations Officer at Onizuka AFB, CA for the directorate which supported launch, early orbit testing, and on orbit operation for GPS, Defense Support

Program. He directed planning and launch activities for 8 GPS and DSP satellite launches and led contractors and Air Force teams in supporting operations from various worldwide locations.

Tom's last assignment brought us back to Colorado Springs, CO. He was responsible for integrating the Consolidated Space Operations Center at Schriever AFB, CO into the AFSCN

baseline and providing assistance to the satellite personnel in identifying and installing Mission Unique Equipment into the operations areas. He retired from the USAF on May 31 st , 1990 and continued working in satellite operations with Trident, Veridian, and General Dynamics for another 15 years.

Tom enjoyed his retirement years, spending time with his wife, children, grand and great-grand sons. He was able to celebrate his 75 th birthday before losing his battle with cancer, surrounded by everything he loved and cherished. Now we are bringing him back to his birthplace. We can’t express the depth of our grief and sorrow now that we must go on without his presence in our lives.

In 1996, Tom wrote in a letter to Suezann “I guess I’m in kind of a downhearted mood tonight. I was just thinking about when I’ll be leaving. It’s really going to be hard for me to leave you. I’m

going to miss you more than I ever missed anyone before in my life.”

Visitation will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2022 from 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. at Williamson-Spencer and Penrod Funeral Home in Portland.  Memorial services will follow at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the funeral home.  Burial will follow at IOOF Twin Hill Cemetery in Pennville.