Thomas Jon Kortsch passed away peacefully on Monday, April 24, 2017, at All Saints Senior Living, Shakopee, MN. He was a lifelong resident of Prior Lake, MN and was 72 years old.
A time of gathering will be held on Saturday, May 6, starting at 12 (noon), with Tom’s garage party at 2 pm, all at Ballard-Sunder Funeral and Cremation 833 South Marschall Road, SHAKOPEE , MN. Tom’s best friends will act as urn bearers, Danny Scherber, Mike Korzan, Rich Rodewald and Gary “Joe” Klingberg. Jean Breeggemann will lead the garage party.
December 7, 1944 was a grand day for Dr. F. Paul and Kathryn (Neighergal) Kortsch, as they proudly announced the birth of their son, Thomas Jon, born in Minneapolis, MN. He grew up in Prior Lake, with his brother, Jay and sister, Kathy. Tom inherited his dad’s fun spirit and work ethics and his mother’s dark color of hair. All traits that carried him through life.
As a young child, Tom enjoyed riding his horse. This horse even assisted him, along with his friend Tom, in robbing the Prior Lake Bank, at the age of 5!!! His dad was a medical doctor and his mother’s skills as a teacher came in handy during Tom’s education. He found many distractions from his school work over the years, but mom made sure he passed every grade, with her assistance. Winter Sunday afternoons were spent with his dad hitching up the horses for a sleigh ride for the town children and concluding with special treats. Although, Tom and his siblings had a pretty easy life, they gave back to the community. He helped a widowed neighborhood twice a day, hauling in wood and emptying her chamber pot, with never complaining.
In 1953, Tom lost his father. His mother remarried and the family moved to the big city. Tom moved around from school to school, with later graduating from Bloomington High School in 1963. He spent most of his career with wrenches in his hands or his hands on a steering wheel of a tow truck. At the age of 12, Tom worked for Florian Blumberg at the local service station, doing odd jobs for sweet treats. After graduation, he started attending Dunwoody Institute, while working at the Chevrolet dealership. Tom later quit both places and began working full time for Florian. Years later, he bought the business from him and loved working with the local residents with their needs. In 1979, Tom had to sell the business. He moved out to west, constructed power lines in Colorado and Nebraska. In 1983, Tom returned home to Prior Lake and started up with his tire and towing business. In 2000, he found himself once again selling the business, this time due to health issues.
At one time in his life, Tom was married and from this union, had three girls, Kim, Katie and Kristen. His off time was spent playing in the sandbox, going to the parks and attending the county fairs, with the girls. Tom relished these times. Unfortunately, the marriage dissolved. But unbeknown to him, through this marriage, Tom found 30 years of wonderful companionship through a good friend, Connie Phillips. Together, they had many adventures. Tom and Connie enjoyed traveling, especially to Alaska and Hawaii. They spent countless hours fishing, fishing and more fishing. Tom too relished the annual fishing trips to Canada and seeing the shows in Las Vegas with friends.
What was most enjoyable for Tom was sitting around talking with friends. The shop was always open for great conversations and he always had a fresh pot of coffee and donuts to be consumed. Tom loved history and was also the historian for Prior Lake and enjoyed conversing about the people and the businesses. For most of his years, Tom was proud to keep up the family tradition of the fall party. He truly enjoyed the holiday’s, especially Christmas, for there was lots of sweet treats to be devoured.
Throughout life, Tom wrote his own book of rules. He lived life to the fullest and lived it through his eyes…be it right or wrong. On January 6, 2017, Tom was diagnosed with Triple-hit Defuse B-cell Lymphoma. He spent his last months with family and friends and reconnecting with God. Thomas Jon Kortsch was a courageous and determine fighter, throughout his life. Yet, as he would say…the party most go on!!!
