Tom died March 2, 2013, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Cedar Falls, Iowa, high school in 1948. In the summer of 1950, he was a smokejumper at Missoula, Montana getting seven training and one fire jump. In August 1950 he entered the U.S. Air Force and was deployed to Korea the following year. In the summer of 1953, Tom returned to Missoula and had two refresher and six fire jumps.

In 1954, Tom moved to Minnesota to live the remainder of his life. Tom graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1960 and worked in the field of recreation, becoming a Director of Recreation and Parks in St. Paul, Minnesota.