Thomas P. Loftus

Thomas P. Loftus passed away peacefully at home on Friday, January 31, 2025, surrounded by family, at the age of 75. Born, raised and passed in Savage, MN, on the farmland that he grew up on. Tom passed away 18 days after his wife, Judy. 

A time of gathering will be held for Tom and Judy on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, from 4-6 pm, at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation, 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake, MN, and on Thursday, February, 20, 2025, from 10-10:45 am, with a Mass of Christian Burial, at 11 am, at St. Michael Catholic Church, 16400 Duluth Street SE, Prior Lake, MN. Father Tom Walker will preside. They will be laid to rest at a private family interment at St. John’s Cemetery in Burnsville, MN. Memorials are preferred and will be distributed in Tom and Judy’s memory by the family. 

Tom grew up on a farm in Savage. He was the 3rd of 7 children of Mathew and Helen Loftus. Tom went to St. John the Baptist School in Savage and then to Prior Lake High School, where he graduated in 1967. Tom started working at Cargill in Savage for a few months, before he entered the US Army, a day after his 19th Birthday. Tom went to Vietnam and was a rifleman in the jungle. While serving in the Vietnam War, he was wounded in action and sent back to the states, where Tom was awarded a Purple Heart. He finished his military service as an instructor on the rifle range for soldiers in basic training. After leaving the United States Army, Tom went back to work at Cargill and retired after 45 years. At his retirement party, the supervisor said that she wished she could clone Tom because of his strong work ethic. 

Tom met Judy Jendro in early 1980 at the local gathering spot in Downtown Savage-The Dan Patch Liquor Store. They were a perfect match as Judy didn’t like the taste of alcohol and Tom liked it too much; he decided he had enough of feeling sick and tired and had his last drink on December 31, 1983. When they started dating Judy told Tom that she is a package deal with Jaime. Tom wouldn’t have had it any other way! The bond that he formed with Jaime was so special and unbreakable. Tom and Judy were married at the Fort Snelling Chapel on August 26 - the day between their birthdays. 

When Tom retired, he started volunteering at the Prior Lake V.F.W. Tom first volunteered doing the pancake breakfasts and was told “we got you now.” Through the years, he volunteered at hamburger night, Bingo, the House Committee and the Honor Guard. Tom enjoyed the camaraderie of working with other veterans and meeting customers that he would not have gotten the chance to know. 

Being Irish some of Tom and Judy’s favorite vacations were to Ireland. They truly loved to travel and even had the chance to take Jaime and Scott on a wonderful cruise to Alaska in the Summer of 2022. 

In 2023, Tom and Judy moved into an Independent Senior Apartment that was built on the Loftus Family Farm. They both enjoyed it there and the staff was a wonderful blessing. 

Tom is forever loved by daughter, Jaime Lea (Scott) Stanley; siblings, Elizabeth Breeggemann, Patrick (Vickie) Loftus, Raymond (Julie) Loftus, Eileen (Brad) Loftus-Kelly, William Loftus; many relatives and countless friends. He is preceded in death by beloved wife Judy; parents, Mathew and Helen Loftus; brother, John Loftus and brothers-in-law, Howard Breeggemann and John Kelly.