Thomas Roswell Carmody

Thomas Roswell Carmody, 91, of Lawrence, KS, passed away on August 2, 2024 at LMH Health Hospital in Lawrence Kansas. He was born on May 18, 1933, in Cleveland, OH to Thomas and Mary Carmody.

Tom is survived by his wife of 67 years Grace and children Tom  (Kay), John  (Wendy), and Mike  (Dee Dee), grandchildren Tyler Carmody (Tori Wallenburg), Jeff Carmody (Kristina), Nikki Nicholson (Ryan), Matt Carmody (Catie McDonough),  Margie Glenn (Spencer), Brian Carmody (Megan) and Ellie Carmody. Great grandchildren Zoe Carmody and Kit Glenn.

Tom, affectionately known by family as “Papa,” lived a full life taking great pride in his family, business pursuits and many hobbies, including yard work, planting caladiums and simply laying in the sun in his favorite hammock. Tom was a devoted follower of his boy’s extra-curricular activities, primarily centered around their sports activities from Little League and CYO through high school sports at Lawrence High School. Tom was present at most home games and many away games, possessing a great ability to be supportive, but not controlling. Holidays were a big deal in the Carmody household, and Tom relished them all, focusing on tradition, making sure each holiday was not too dissimilar from year to year, taking significant effort to make the faith-based holidays consistent with his Catholic faith. Tom certainly relished all holidays, kids’ birthdays, and time spent with family and his faith. He made great effort to plan and execute annual summer vacations, often fit in after summer baseball and before fall football, piling the family into a station wagon (seatbelts optional) for multi-day trips back to his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio to visit his and Grace’s brothers, sisters, and cousins.

Tom was proud of his Jesuit education which included St. Ignatius High School and John Carrol University both in Cleveland Ohio. His Irish heritage was dear to him as evidenced by his traditional Irish music collection and enjoyment of traditional Irish food and St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. In his leisure time, Tom was an avid reader of multiple daily newspapers and periodicals while consuming several fiction (spy novels) and non-fiction (War novels) per week.

Tom enjoyed a prosperous business career spanning almost 4 decades. In Lawrence, he headed up Curtiss 1000, a business form producer, for 10 years. At the pinnacle of his career, he rose to President and CEO Of American Business Products, a highly profitable international corporation, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, where he and Grace resided for 18 years before retiring and living back in Lawrence for the past 25 years.

Tom was active in the Lawrence community with his involvement in The Lawrence Rotary Club, Jayhawk chapter of Miliary Officers (President), American Legion, Big Blue, New Generations Society to name a few. Tom very much enjoyed his weekly Big Blue gatherings each Friday at Johnny’s Tavern where he was one of the last few surviving members. Tom loved to travel. He and Grace traveled the world on an estimated 50 cruises over their lifetime. Tom was a proud Army veteran serving in the “Big Red One” stationed at Ft. Riley where he rose to 1 ^st Lieutenant. Tom also did not see and infomercial he did not like as he collected almost all TV gadgets imaginable. Tom was always within reach of a hidden candy bar or bag of pretzels stationed around the house in places only he knew. Or so he thought. He probably wondered why he had to keep replenishing his stock when the kids were in the house.

A major source of pride for Tom was his massive collection of 1920-1950 era vintage toy soldiers. A collection built almost entirely on rummaging through estate sales on the weekends. Only the best soldiers were worthy of his collection!

A Mass of Catholic burial will be held on Friday August 9 at 10:30 AM at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, Lawrence, KS, preceded by a visitation and rosary at 9:45 AM. A private burial will be held later.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Charities in Thomas Carmody’s honor. You many use the link https://catholiccharitiesks.org/donate/ or mail a check to Warren-McElwain Mortuary 120 W. 13th St. Lawrence, KS 66044.

In Tom’s later years he was especially grateful for his healthcare providers, including Dr. Klish and Dr. Meyer and several other LMH healthcare professionals that assisted him in living a long and enjoyable life.

Condolences and memories may be shared at warrenmcelwain.com. Tom will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.