Final Salute

CROWN POINT, IN – Thomas Kayes, age 96, of Crown Point, IN, passed away on Thursday, June 22, 2023.

Thomas is survived by his children: Kevin David (late Elizabeth Stark) Kayes, Thomas A. (Rebecca J.) Kayes, Lisa Ann (Casey Bartels) Kayes; grandchildren: Anna Kayes, Sara (James) Henderson, Ashley (Robert) Gard, Tommy (Tamara) Kayes, Kimberly (Will Sasaki) Kayes, Joseph (Electa) Bartels, Elizabeth (Joel) Burns, Drew (Rachelle) Bartels, Lacey (Alex) Goodwin, Reid (fiancé Esther) Bartels, Mattie Bartels; great-grandchildren: Ainslee and Rhett Gard; many other great-grandchildren, nieces, and nephews; sister, Besse Naglosky; and sister-in-law, Joan Kayes.

Thomas was preceded in death by his wife, Frieda Kayes; parents, Kosmas and Anna Kougoufas; sister, Peggy Terzes and brother Kosmas Kayes.

Thomas graduated from Froebel High School in Gary and enlisted in the US Navy when he was 17 years old. He was attached to the First Marine Division as a Seabee and participated in the invasion of Okinawa during WW2. He attended Indiana University on the GI Bill and earned a BS in Business and Accounting. After graduation he worked as an accountant for a number of companies in Chicago and Gary and ultimately started a successful accounting firm with his friend Bill Patterson and then John Laszlo in Merrillville. He was a member of the National and Indiana Society of Public Accountants; Merrillville AHEPA Chapter, Merrillville Exchange Club, Board of Directors of the Gary Old Timers Athletic Club and a baseball and softball coach at Junedale Little League in Gary. Thomas loved sports and was an avid Chicago Cubs fan.

He lived in Crown Point for 54 years, most recently at Wittenberg Village, where he had developed many close friendships with his fellow residents and the staff. Thomas was a loving, caring, generous, social, and outgoing person who took pride in his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Friends may visit with the family on Monday, June 26, 2023 at GEISEN FUNERAL, CREMATION & RECEPTION CENTRE, 606 E. 113th Ave., Crown Point, IN 46307 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.

Funeral Services will be at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, June 27, 2023 at Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 8000 Madison St., Merrillville, IN 46410.

Interment to follow at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville, IN.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Thomas’s name to the Wittenberg Village in Crown Point and the Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Merrillville.

Visit Thomas’s online guestbook at www.GeisenFuneralHome.com 219-663-2500.

Published by The Times on Jun. 25, 2023.