Father Thomas Sarnecki died Sept. 14, 2024.
He graduated from Plains High School in 1949, where he played varsity football and basketball. He served in the U.S.C.G. from 1949 to 1952. He graduated from King’s College in 1957. He worked as a teacher and psychologist in Detroit from 1957 to 1986. His advanced degrees included: M.Ed., 1969; Ed. Sp., 1975; Ed. D., 1992; M. Div., 2002.
Tom married Christine Serafin in 1956, and they had four children: Karen, Kristine, Nancy and John; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
He retired from Detroit in 1986 and moved to Florida, where he worked for an additional 10 years. His wife, Christine, died in 1998, and Tom entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. He was ordained in 2002 for the Scranton Diocese.
Father Tom was made pastor of St. David’s in Scranton and St. Stanislaus in Old Forge, following a year at St. Mary’s in Dickson City. In 2005, he left Scranton to become a VA chaplain in Cleveland, Ohio. After one year he was transferred to the VA Bay Pines Hospital in Florida, where he served until 2014.