Tom Litchfield September 14, 1962 to February 12, 2024
We lost our dear angel, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great uncle & best friend. He was truly our shining star and our hearts are broken.
Tom’s journey began in Boston, which he was extremely proud of telling everyone he met. Tom dearly loved his New England family.
Tom was an accomplished swimmer and cross country skier with the Special Olympics in his younger years. Later in life he enjoyed volunteering at the Special Olympics. He very proudly graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1984 and later on worked at HyVee for over 20 years serving food and sacking groceries. By the time he retired in 2019, he was basically a local celebrity.
Tom loved having sleepovers with all of his nieces and nephews. Every time he brought a bag full of VHS movies consisting of Wizard of Oz, Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Gremlins and Chucky (even though it scared the kids).
Tom spent many weekends at the Delta Sig Fraternity at K-State where he would use the intercom to call “boys only” meetings during parties. When it was time to leave, he would make everyone line up and give him a hug. This is most likely where he learned his favorite inappropriate responses to things he didn’t want to do!
Although he was extremely innocent, he was also quite ornery. When younger, he threw his shoes out car windows which was funny to his sisters, not so much to mom and dad!
Tom loved rearranging furniture (many times without permission), Hawaiian shirts, Chiefs, family holiday parties, going to church, Diet Coke, McDonalds, bowling, Yahtzee, reminding people the date of his birthday, traveling and calling all cute women “Miss USA America”.
Tom hated cold weather, dirty rooms, spicy food, delayed removal of all Christmas lights, not riding in the front seat & eventually Chucky after receiving a life-size doll at his 40th surprise birthday party!
Tom was in all of our weddings and loved being the center of attention. He would dress up (reluctantly) and always find the DJ to sing Amazing Grace or Edelweiss.
Tom touched our family in a way that can never be explained. He made us all better people and exemplified the meaning of unconditional love. He had a gentle soul that made everyone love him. He is now an angel up in heaven joining his father, mother, sister and his beloved dog, Sam (whom he prayed for often).
Tom lived independently for years with his roommate David and then spent his last few years in a group home with Options Services.
He is survived by his sister, Wendy Jensen, brother-in-law, Rick Jensen, R.C. Jensen (Nia), Kellie Reilly (Brendan), Jeff Jensen, Courtney Smith, Kyle Smith, Luke Smith (Alyssa), 5 great nieces & nephews & the Cross family in New England.
No funeral services will be held in Kansas City; however, Tom will be buried with his father in Boston in the near future.
A Celebration of Life party, Wizard of Oz themed, will take place on Saturday, March 23, with an open house from 4-8pm at 9748 Juniper Lane in Overland Park, KS.
In lieu of flowers, please post a memory and/or picture of Tom in the link provided below: https://www.thankbox.com/app/thankbox/ekgarziB
Oh Tom, you were a shining light at holiday parties. You gave the best hugs and never wanted to let go. Go take care of our people up there. We love you!
Tom was such a person of love! He always made you feel seen in a room of many with his big hugs and smile. I loved the occasional call from Tom telling me about his family and reminding me his birthday was coming up!
His spirit will forever remain in my heart. What a wonderful brother and Uncle, Tom was on earth, and now your angel watching over you all. May you rest in paradise and peace Tom!
Tom, you made us laugh so often. You had such a quick wit about you and your timing was impeccable! All of us at Options will miss you dearly and are thankful to have been part of your life.
Tom was the life of the party and the star of the show. He will truly be missed here at Options. Spread your wings and fly high up in heaven. We love you Tom, forever and always ❤️
I feel so lucky to have met Tom. To know him was to love him. He was pure joy, an exceptional human being.
Reading Tom’s obituary brought a smile to my face. It reminded me of the conversations we had and the stories he would tell us when we had lunch together at work. He gave the biggest hugs! His smile would brighten the room and when he would see you, Tom would make you feel like you were the most special person in the room. I’m thankful I had the honor to know him. A true joy.
Tom’s loving and sweet personality was such a bright light whenever we met. I would see Tom fairly regularly when he worked at HYVEE and he represented his company so well. Always smiling, ever cheerful and fun to be around. He would often help Wendy host dinner parties and was a friend to everyone he saw. The world would be a better place with more Tom’s in it. May the peace of Christ be with you Wendy, Rick and the entire family.
I worked with Tom at Hy-Vee for about 10-12 years until we both left…
This obit made me laugh and cry…he was truly a superstar to our Hy-Vee, everyone loved him… I (along with every other girl in that building) was miss USA America❤️. Our birthday was 1 day a part, I used to tease him that my birthday was first! He had a great sense of humor and would always clap back with something cute… I’ll never forget him, he HATED getting carts, of course I let him get away with whatever he wanted. Loved that little dude ❤️ RIP Tommy
I always enjoyed seeing Tom at Hy-Vee. I loved the conversations we had while he bagged my groceries, especially when we talked about his love of soap operas. What a lucky person I was to have known him.
Tom always lit up a room and brought an energy of kindness and joy. The world is a bit less joyful knowing that Tom is gone but it’s a better place for having had him in it.
Tom you were one of my very favorite people ever ❤️
I worked with Tom for several decades at JCDS, including a stint as his job coach at the Courtyard by Marriott. Some of my best memories of him include when he would pull the fire alarm at the hotel when he was looking for a break. And later when my career took me away from JCDS, I would still occasionally pick him up from Hy-Vee for lunch or dinner and always included a stop by my house, where he would rearrange my living room. For fun. I’ll never forget him saying “Deb, you are a busy, busy lady and I can help you.” Love him dearly. Rest in peace and love my friend.