Thomas C. “Tom” Forton, 66, of Galion, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016 at Galion Community Hospital.
Born Feb. 26, 1949 in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, he was the son of the late Carl L. Forton and Betty L. (Graham) Forton Shearer, of Galion. He married Nan (Johnson) Forton on July 4, 1979 and she survives.
He proudly served with the United States Army in the Vietnam War. Tom worked as a welder for Transco Railway in Bucyrus for 17 years. He retired in 2012 from Geneva Group Ltd. in Galion, where he worked as a maintenance man.
He was an avid Galion sports promoter, fan, softball player and coach. Tom ran the Galion Co-Ed League for 12 years and his teams were like family to him. He was an avid Michigan and Denver Broncos fan, loved riding his motorcycle and golfing. He was very proud to be a veteran and always made it a point to share his appreciation to other veterans and current military personnel. In his retirement years, he enjoyed spending time in the mornings with his friends for coffee, most recently at the Whistle Stop Café.
In addition to his wife and mother, he is survived by children Chase (Staci) Johnson, of Galion and Kisti (Nathan) Ujvari, of Loveland; grandchildren Makaylia Bailey, Shawntel (Austin) Davis, Stoan Johnson, Araya Johnson, Maeci Ujvari and Nolyn Ujvari; great grandchildren Veydah Davis and Aiyden Hiatt; brothers Earl L. “Snook” Shearer, of Galion, and Danny (Traci) Shearer, of Danville, Indiana, and sister-in-law Jody Shearer, of Crestline.
In addition to his father he was preceded in death by stepfather Earl L. Shearer Jr., brother Kerry Shearer, father-in-law Freeman “Jr.” Johnson and mother-in-law Flo Johnson.
A Celebration of Life will take place from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016 at The Whistle Stop Cafe, 241 Harding Way East, Galion, Ohio 44833. His final resting place will be in Colorado at a later date.
In Lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Girl Scouts of Western Ohio (GSWO) for Girl Scout Cookies to be purchased for the military.
Richardson Davis Chapel of Snyder Funeral Homes in Galion is honored to serve the family of Tom Forton, and condolences may be made to them at www.SnyderFuneralHomes.com.
