Obituary: Yochum, Neil Thomas “Tom”
Age 85
He was born June 10, 1929 in Walker, Minnesota to Herman and Martha Yochum.
He was preceded in death by his mother, father, five brothers, and one sister.
He is survived by his wife, Faye, married 64 years; son, Mike (and Linda) Yochum; daughter, Carrole Yochum; son, Walt Yochum; daughter, Tamara Yochum; grandchildren, Jennifer (and Teacon) Simeonoff, Tom (and Chelsea) Yochum, Rutger Yochum, and McCaul Yochum; great-grandchildren, Hunter and Talon Simeonoff and Asher, Caleb, and Titus Yochum; and faithful dog Muffy.
Tom was an avid snowmobiler.
He was a 38 year member of the Spokane Winter Knights Snowmobile Club and volunteered annually to cut brush along the trails of Mt.
Spokane and the north Baldies at Usk.
An annual award of service has been established in his name by the club.
He served our country proudly in the U.S. Army from 1951-53.
Tom worked as a heavy equipment operator for 40 years and belonged to the Operating Engineers Union for 28 years.
Notably, he worked on several major dam projects in the Inland Northwest including Grand Coulee, the development of Expo ‘74/Riverfront Park, and the tree planting of all the downtown Spokane area.
He worked at Central Premix for 15 years running the crushing plant at Fort Wright.
A loyal and hard-working man, he missed a total of five days of work in his entire career.
Tom was a dedicated husband, father, papa, great-papa, friend, and neighbor.
His humor and honorable character will be missed.
A Memorial Service will be held June 6th, 2015, at the Chattaroy Community Church in Chattaroy, Washington at 11:00 a.m. A very heartfelt thank you to Gentiva Home Health Care and Hospice for their care and love.