Thomas J. Zobrist

Thomas J. “Tom” Zobrist, 83, of Denton, Texas, passed away early Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Teresa’s House Assisted Living/Memory Care Village in Argyle, Texas. It was there that he sadly succumbed to his 4 month-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He leaves behind his loving wife of nearly 63 years, Patricia “Patty” Kaiser; his two devoted sons, Michael and Stephen (Julie); three wonderful grand-daughters, Morgan (Hunter Anderson), Chelsea, and Sarah (Jacob Posey); three beautiful great-grandchildren, Casen, Paisley, and Judah. He is also survived by two brothers, Jerry (Dee) and Doug (Marilyn), and sister-in-law, Linda. He was preceded in death by his brother, Hank.

Tom was born on August 21, 1941, in Dayton, Ohio to Joe and Lucille Zobrist. He graduated from Chaminade High School and attended the University of Dayton. For 39 years of his life, Tom worked under his father and alongside 2 of his brothers running their very successful family-owned optical business, Bell Optical, at the primary branch in Kettering, Ohio. He retired in 2001, and then in 2002, he was elected Fiscal Officer of Washington Township in southwest Ohio and proudly remained there until 2018 when he and Patty moved to Texas to be closer to their children and grandchildren. In addition, he held many other leadership positions in business as well as his social life, including positions on five boards at the county level, such as President of the Montgomery County Township Association. Tom also had reached the highest rank in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem of which he became a member in April of 1997 until he retired in 2017.

Starting at a young age, Tom was always fascinated with fast cars, fast boats, and fast snowmobiles. He always had a fun car or truck in the garage, and he passed that love onto his sons. He and Patty have spent thousands of days over the years boating with family and friends on Indian Lake in southwest Ohio first, and then later, on Lake Erie and at Catawba Island Club. For snowmobiling, he and Patty would share machines and riding suits with their friends so they could show them the fun of speeding through the snow-covered woods in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Whichever season it was, he wanted to enjoy it with a lot of horsepower under the “hood”.

He will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, brother, uncle, neighbor, businessman, and friend. Everyone who knew Tom knew he loved to talk. He never met a stranger and could talk to absolutely anyone. He loved to tell stories all the time and he would tell his favorites over and over again. He also was probably one of the most curious people you could ever meet. He was interested in every detail about cars, boats, engines, buildings, cities, electricity, machines and literally anything he saw. He wanted to know and understand how everything worked and would ask questions about anything. He also didn’t care about your background or social standing but was more interested in your character. He had friends from all walks of life.

Tom’s family would like to thank the staff at Teresa’s House in Argyle for taking care of him so well for the past 11 months. Also, many thanks to the staff at Texas Oncology in Denton for their care, support and dedication during this difficult but short 4 months, especially Dr. Jain, Greg Werner, and Raychel Boelman.

To remember and honor Tom, visitation will be held in Dayton, Ohio Tuesday, April 8, 2025 from 9:30 to 11:00am in the WESTBROCK FUNERAL HOME-KETTERING, 5980 Bigger Road to be followed with a Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady of Incarnation Catholic Church in Centerville, Ohio at 12:00pm. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Dayton. At a later date, there will be a Memorial Mass held at St. Mark Catholic Church in Denton, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, please instead send any donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or to the American Cancer Society.

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