Final Salute

Thomas Astle, Jr. died on Dec. 17, 2020 at the age of 88. He will be missed terribly by his four children, Tom, Lisa, Jennifer, and Kevin; his four siblings, Liz, Mary Margaret, Mark, and Louise; and his eight grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Peg, and his wife Nancy. Raised in Billings, Montana the eldest of five children.

Tom joined the Navy out of high school in Riverton, Wyoming and fought in the Korean War. Tom took great pride in joining the Seabees and helped build an airstrip during the war that saved dozens of American lives. Returning from service to Billings, he met and fell in love with Nancy (Unger) Astle. They married and had four children, raised in Billings. Tom became a licensed land surveyor. He could understand math and geography and trigonometry to a degree most would find baffling. He mapped entire golf courses, large subdivisions, people’s simple residential lots, Crow tribal vision sites, highways, baseball fields, and so much more.

Tom knew how to draw straight lines on the curve of the earth. Nancy was the amazing love of his life. They danced and laughed and teased each other throughout their 52 years of marriage. Tom showed strength and amazing love as he cared for Nancy through her ALS illness and death. Tom held his Catholic faith dear and prayed for family, friends and our entire troubled world regularly.

He loved spending Christmas with his siblings, the Dodgers, his hummingbirds at his feeders, a good steak, telling and retelling a good story, Glen Yarborough tunes, golfing with his teachers and preachers, anything his grandchildren did, and spending time with his loving family. Tom Astle was so very strong and funny and loved to celebrate when his family got together. We miss you, Dad.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ALS of Nevada

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Published by Billings Gazette on Dec. 19, 2020.