Thomas Dale Long

Thomas Dale Long esq. escaped this mortal coil on June 5th, 2023. He entered the world as a surprise on June 2nd, 1947 and cackled till he could no more. He was a Vietnam Air Force Veteran, a mailman for the city of Centerville, Dr. Creep on Halloween and a constant source of delight and adventure.
Tommy was a husband to Eileen, Dad to Stacey (Tom), Kelly (Roger) and Melanie (James). He was Pop Pop to Kaylie, Maddie and Ellie, uncle to many, many, many nieces & nephews and friend to hundreds if not thousands. He was preceded in death by his parents Carl, Helen, and Glenna, his siblings Carl Long, Doris Barnett and his favorite weenie.....dog named Jordan.
The community might remember him for winning the 1988 “Macho Man” Bake-Off at the Centerville Post Office. Tommy was never one to miss a celebration or special event, he often left unattractive items such as shoes or ducks (and more) in your front yard and compared you to smelly cats on your birthday card. He believed himself a gentleman fisherman in the Upper Peninsula, MI and a “successful” gambler, spending annual weekend trips to Keeneland imbibing on the local brews so he rarely remembered just how things went.
An avid music fan, he survived THE The Who concert in Cincinnati in 1980. He had a mancave before it was popular, filled with flags of various nations & states, random cowboy novels and smells of the underworld. If you were brave enough to enter his man room, you might delight at the various glassware he stole from weddings, various skulls, swords, Civil War soldiers, revolvers and various rolls of rolled currency. He loved the idea of maps even if he couldn't follow them. Finally, a minor collection of tools with the hope someday he would use them and not destroy everything.
Tommy was the life of the party, the storyteller, the man about town, a self-proclaimed Easy Goer. He lived as he loved, with every bit of him cackling & dancing till he wore himself out. If he were here with us today, he would probably thank the Miller Lite Beer company, Ulysses S. Grant, Santana, and the Seattle Seahawks. Most importantly he would offer some sage advice: just like bad cabbage, this too shall pass.
Hail and farewell, Dad, till we meet again.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made in his name to:
Alzheimer's Association https://act.alz.org/site/Donation
The Air Force Museum Foundation https://www.afmuseum.com/givenow
The American Battlefield Trust https://www.battlefields.org/give/memorial-special-occasion-gifts