Thomas Garske

Thomas (Tom) Garske
Tom (Papa to his kids) Garske, age 65, of White Bear Lake, MN peacefully left our world on June 6, 2015. He was born in Grand Forks, ND on August 30, 1949, lived in Fargo, ND. For 18 years, he was married to Diane Dahl until 1991 when he moved to the Twin Cities area. Papa received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in his hometown of Fargo-Moorhead, was a proud Veteran, very successful entrepreneur in multiple endeavors, an integral part of every business relationship he was a part of, and President of the Board of the homeowner's association where he lived in White Bear Lake. He was an active snowboarder, continuing to make multiple trips throughout the winters to the Duluth area and to Montana, and was the driving force in our introduction to snowboarding. Papa also was an avid catamaran sailor, beginning in the late 70s and continuing to sail and race almost every weekend of the summer since. This was truly a love of his! Papa was an expert in his area of business and will always be remembered for his sense of humor... he loved to joke with people, make people laugh, and always knew when the people around him needed a lift. Papa was a courageous, caring, compassionate leader in everything he did - always analyzing his environment, and truly had a passion for life itself. He was the "Knight in Shining Armor" to us kids - always ready to protect and advocate for us. He was always happy and excited to bring us on new adventures and introduce us to new things. Papa is fondly and lovingly remembered by us, Alee and Nate, his energetic grandson, Link, his mother, Amelia (Millie), siblings, Richard, Donna, John, and Jim, and many, many more people. Papa was so very proud to be Grandpa Tom and loved every moment he spent with "The Linkster." A celebration of Papa's wonderful life will be held on Tuesday, June 16th at the White Bear Yacht Club, 56 Dellwood Ave., Dellwood, MN, with a social gathering at 4pm and the Celebration Service starting at 5pm.