Thomas A. Noffsinger

Thomas A. Noffsinger (aka Pops), age 86, of Elburn, passed away Thursday, March 9, 2023 at his home in Elburn surrounded by his loving family.

He was born October 24, 1936, in Chicago to Malcom and Edith (née Cartwright) Noffsinger. Thomas spent his early childhood living in Morton’s Gap, Kentucky with his maternal grandmother Effie Cartwright (née McCoy) as The Great Depression was still in full swing. He returned to Chicago when he was old enough to attend school.

Tom served in the US Army 1954-1957 and spent time in Fort Dix, NJ; Fort Campbell, KY; Fort Ord, California; and the United States Army Garrison in Heidelburg, Germany. Pops always referred to himself as a “snack bar soldier” because he was fortunate enough to go into the service after Korea and exit before Vietnam.

Not long after his army discharge, Tom met his soulmate, Carol, on June 21, 1958.  Carol was helping her 8 ½ months pregnant sister, Anne, and brother-in-law clean their new apartment when Tom stopped by to visit his good friend, Ray. It was love at first sight. Tom proposed on Christmas Eve and they were married April 18, 1959.

Pops was a proud member of Local 597 Pipefitters Union for over 60 years. A trip to Chicago always resulted in comments like “I ran that job in X year. We had to cut open the concrete to get the chiller in,” or “Thermo had that job in X year. We had to cart tools up 32 floors because the elevator wasn’t working.” We all knew we could never take him on the Chicago Architecture Tours because he would have talked over the tour! Pops loved working so much he retired twice. After his first retirement in 2007, he went back to working full time until he finally retired two days before his 80th birthday. He always said “if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life” and he meant it.

Tom is survived by his devoted wife of 64 years Carol (née Bush); daughter Tracelle “Traci” (Barry) Morrison; grandchildren Brian (Alexandra) Noffsinger, Gina Noffsinger, Lauren Korosa, Brad (Robin) Morrison, and Rachel Morrison; and many more relatives and friends.

Pops was proceeded in death by his beloved son and daughter-in-law Thomas “Tommy” and Patricia (née Glynn) Noffsinger, his parents and his sister Jean Lindburg.

Visitation will be held Sunday, March 19, 2023 from 2:00 pm until 8:00 pm at Malone Funeral Home, 324 E. State Street (Route 38), Geneva.

Funeral services will be held Monday, March 20 at 11:00 am at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 320 Franklin Street, Geneva with Reverend Dr. Mark Tusken officiating. 

In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Anderson Animal Shelter, 1000 S. La Fox Street, South Elgin, IL 60177 https://ahconnects.org/se/ or to the St. Mark’s Choir Trip Fund, 320 Franklin Street, Geneva, IL 60134.

For information 630-232-8233 or www.malonefh.com.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.