Thomas Oberhofer

Thomas Oberhofer was called home to heaven on January 17th, 2024 at the age of 87. Tom passed away peacefully at home, in the presence of his loving family.

Tom was born on November 2nd, 1936 in Milwaukee, WI to Anton and Leone Oberhofer. He spent his childhood years surrounded by extended family and often reminisced with stories of his happy childhood with his family, cousins, aunts and uncles and trips up north to the cottage. Tom attended Juneau high school in Milwaukee, graduating in 1954.

Tom received his B.S. and Master degrees in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin. He was a member of Theta Chi fraternity at UW-Madison. He went on to attend the University of Michigan to receive his Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Microbiology.

Tom married Young Ok Choo in 1967 and together lived in Washington D.C., Ann Arbor, MI, San Antonio, TX and finally in Puyallup, WA, where they raised their two children. Tom and Young enjoyed a devoted marriage of 56 years.

Tom served 25-years in the U.S. Army as a medical microbiologist in locations around the U.S., Korea and in Japan. The majority of his service was at Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA (1976-1985), where he served as Chief of Microbiology. Tom retired from the army in 1985 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was immensely proud of his service to his country. After retiring from the military, Tom worked as Microbiology Director at Lab Corp in Kent, WA until his final retirement in June 2005. Over the course of his microbiology career, Tom published 29 scientific articles, two books and contributing chapters in two textbooks.

Tom was a devoted member of Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, in Tacoma. Over 47 years, he held various church council positions, including 4 terms as President, and enjoyed singing in the church choir.

Tom was an avid reader of American history and literature and was passionate about his German family history, spending countless hours researching and writing books of genealogy of both sides of his family. He was also immersed in German cooking and baking, and even in the last weeks of his life, he was still fine-tuning his family Christmas cookie recipes. Tom was a season ticketholder of the Seattle Seahawks since 1983 and loved cheering on his Hawks with his wife and kids.

Tom was preceded into eternal life in heaven by his parents, Anton and Leone, and his older brother Richard Oberhofer. He is survived by his devoted and loving wife, Young; his daughter, Renee Fletcher (Scott) of Sammamish; his son, Stephen Oberhofer of Seattle; and his two granddaughters, Maya and Grace. Tom was brought into this world by God’s grace just as he left this world. He will be missed by all those whose lives he touched.

Tom was laid to rest at Tahoma National Cemetery with military honors. His funeral service will take place on Saturday, February 10, 4:00pm at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 101 S. 96th Street, Tacoma, WA 98444. All who knew Tom are welcome.