Tom G. Lines

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Thomas George Lines age 67, of Garretson, passed away on Friday, October 7, 2016, at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls. A Celebration of His Life and time of sharing will begin at 11:00 am Thursday, October 13, 2016, at the American Legion in Garretson with a lunch to follow. Visitation with the family present will be from 6-8:00 pm Wednesday, at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Garretson.

Tom George Lines was born to parents John and Shirley Lines, August 1, 1949 in Brainerd, Minnesota and grew up on a farm in rural Cottonwood, MN with his siblings.

He graduated from Cottonwood High School in the spring of 1967 and then went on to study at the University of Minnesota, prior to being drafted by the Army on March 25, 1969. He served in the Vietnam War and then was ordered to spend the rest of his enlistment in Germany, where he met best friend and love of his life, Mary Kyoko Wilson. They were married on March 31, 1972 in Fort Huachuca, Arizona and eventually made their home in Cottonwood, MN.

Tom attended Southwest State University and graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Technology. After graduating, they moved to Garretson, SD to be near Tom’s job in Sioux Falls. He worked at Sencore and Gateway Computers before ultimately working at EROS Data Center as a Sr. Software Engineer for the last 19 years.

Tom was very involved in the community and served many roles, including Garretson City Council, American Legion and an active EMT with the Garretson Ambulance for over 30 years. He was also very involved at the district and state level EMS, where he served as president and vice president for District 2. Tom was honored to be awarded 2016 EMT of the year for District 2 and the State of South Dakota, which was awarded early because of his health.

Thomas is survived by his loving wife, Mary, and children: Heather (Paul) Welbig, Jennifer Lines, and John Paul (Amy) Lines; siblings: RuthAnn (James) Schultz, Paul (Anita) Lines and Virginia (John) Clementson; and lovely grandchildren: Mataya Lines, Kyrah Welbig, Kelsi Welbig, and Baby Lines 2017, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.