Obituary of Thomas J. Fejfar

FEJFAR, THOMAS J. Thomas Fejfar, age 68, of Yankton passed away on July 8, 2016, at Avera Sister James Hospice House due to complications from renal failure and prostate cancer. Thomas John Fejfar was born on March 21, 1948, in Yankton to Robert J. and Sylvia G. (Hlavac) Fejfar. He graduated from Sacred Heart School in 1962 and Yankton Senior High School in 1966. While in grade school and high school he was active in Scouting, including rifle marksmanship. During his favorite summer job he was the engineer of the miniature railroad train that once operated at Fort Yankton on Lewis and Clark Lake. He attended the University of South Dakota for two years and later studied business at Nettleton Business College. He returned to Yankton to work as a printer with his dad who founded and published the Missouri Valley Shopper. Tom was an excellent bowler on his Ridge Runners team while he lived in Yankton. Later he worked as a specialty printer in Longmont, CO, and Madison, SD. After his dad died in 1995, Tom moved from Madison to Yankton to help out his mother, who passed away in 2012. Tom was proud of his Czech heritage, and for several years he helped organize the annual family reunion. The diagnosis of his terminal illness in early April 2016 came as a shock, but he came to accept it and was at peace in the end. He was a lifelong bachelor who, late in life, found himself among a group of women who attentively cared for him during his 12-week stay in hospice. Along the way they learned to appreciate his distinctive take on life and impending death. Tom is survived by his brother Dick (Judy Nelson) Fejfar of Linden, VA; his two nieces, Michele Fejfar and husband, Christian Wilson, Fairfax, VA, and their children Brendan and Alena; and Laura Fejfar (fiancé, Melissa Bradshaw), Alexandria, VA. Tom also leaves several cousins, including Cathy Bonowski, who spent many hours with Tom after he became ill, and Bob Pechous, who farms his land near Utica; caring friend, Cristy Reid; and several cousins and family friends in the Czech Republic and England. Tom is preceded in death by his parents; infant sister Patricia Ann in 1957; grandparents Joseph and Elsie (Ross) Fejfar, and John and Christina (Nikodym) Hlavac; cousins Charles Fejfar and Carla Jo (Fejfar) Johnson; several aunts and uncles; and his dog, SamE. The family extends its gratitude to the wonderful staff at Hospice House for their kind efforts to keep Tom as comfortable as possible in his last weeks, particularly his nurse, Stephanie Reinhardt. Her exceptional ability to deal with terminal patients and her unfailingly good humor during interactions with Tom were appreciated by both Tom and his family. Also Tami Mabee, the hospice social worker, provided much comfort to Tom and family, and assisted in making some difficult decisions. God bless them all.