Thomas Michael Condon

Published 7:54 am Monday, May 17, 2021

Thomas Michael Condon

December 20, 1953 – May 6, 2021

Thomas Michael Condon was born December 20, 1953, at St. Agnes Hospital, White Plains, New York, and was the third child of Robert and Ardis Condon. Bob was a WWII Veteran of the Merchant Marines, and Ardis was a US Army nurse veteran. The family lived in Valhalla, New York, then briefly in Jersey City, and finally settled in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Tom attended St. Thomas Catholic School and graduated from East Brunswick High School in 1972. Later, he attended University of Dayton and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting in 1976.

As a child, Tom loved Matchbox cars and spent many hours building roads in the gravel driveway. He loved playing and coaching baseball, and was a lifelong fan of the NY Yankees. Tom was active in the Boy Scouts, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He loved animals, and during his teenage years worked as an assistant at a veterinary clinic. He even took the family dog, Tippy, to college with him. Favorite hobbies from his young adult years included motorcycles and leatherworking.

Tom worked in New York City after graduating from college, and then, in 1978, he moved to Colfax, Washington, where he helped his brother and sister-in-law remodel their old house. Tom decided to stay in the west, and accepted an accounting job for Green Giant in Dayton, Washington. Tom met Gloria Stevenson – the woman who would become his wife – in the fall of 1979 when they both attended a Christian Retreat at Mater Cleri Seminary near Spokane, Washington. They happened to be assigned seats at the same table, and became great friends. They quit their jobs and traveled around Europe by train for four months, carrying backpacks and staying in Youth Hostels. They decided to continue to share their lives and were married on August 22, 1981 in Moscow, Idaho by the priest who was in charge of the conference where they met.

When Gloria was offered a Travel Agent job in Anchorage, Alaska, they decided to go for another adventure. They enjoyed exploring the great outdoors in Alaska while Tom worked as an accountant for a gold mining & exploration company. Timothy – Tom and Gloria’s first son – was born in Anchorage the day before their first wedding anniversary. They hiked the Resurrection Trail with Tim in a backpack while Gloria was expecting their second child. With number two on the way, they decided to move back to the “lower 48.” Their second son, John, was born in Pullman, Washington, during their transition.

The family settled in Newport, Oregon for the next ten years. Tom became a Certified Public Accountant while working for Grimstad and Adams. Two more sons, Michael and James, joined the family during the Newport years. Then, in 1993, they moved to Bend, Oregon. Tom worked as controller for the Oxford Hotel Group until his retirement in 2018.

Tom was passionate about his Christian faith and his family. He was willing to sacrifice his own comfort to have Gloria stay home with the boys until they started school. He saved carefully to help each son attend the college of their choice. Tom and Gloria enjoyed being part of the Nazarene Church family for nearly 40 years – first in Anchorage, then in Newport, and now in Bend. In later years, Tom finally bought a sports car of his own – a BMW, and he began to avidly follow the stock market. Tom and Gloria were privileged to help with daycare for five local grandchildren since their retirement, and during Covid helped supervise the online schooling of the three oldest grandchildren.

Tom suffered an unexpected heart attack and stroke in early April. He spent a month recovering at St. Charles Hospital. After graduating to the Inpatient Rehab program, Tom worked hard and made amazing progress. The Condon family is so thankful for the loving care Tom received at St. Charles Hospital, especially for the Inpatient Rehab family. He was exuberant about the prospect of going home on May 7, 2021 — but sadly suffered another heart attack just before his discharge, and this one proved fatal. On May 6, 2021, Tom graduated to Heaven.

Tom is survived by so many broken hearts including his wife, Gloria and their beloved pup, Tasha, at the family home in Bend; sons, Timothy (Alvina) of South San Francisco, CA; John of Bend; Michael (Megan) of Bend; and James of Salt Lake City, Utah; grandchildren, Riley, Lucas, Owen, Emma, and Elijah Condon of Bend and Benjamin and Jeremiah Condon of South San Francisco; brother, Steve (Beth) of Pendleton; sisters, Carol (Mike) Buddie of Rocky River, Ohio and Kathleen (Paul) LaFrance of Channel Islands Harbor, California. Tom’s life will be celebrated at Bend Church of the Nazarene at 11am on Saturday, May 15.