Thomas Alan Culp

Thomas Alan Culp passed away Friday, June 13 in Decker, Indiana after a long journey battling end stage renal disease.

Tom was known by many names including Tommy, Big Kahuna, Dad, Papaw and my favorite husband. Family is what he loved the most, closely followed by the Chicago Cubs and going fishing. The biggest highlights in his life were the day each son was born, the day each grandchild was born and November 2, 2016 when the Cubs won the World Series.

Tom worked twenty seven years at KMart, then he worked at for Toyota and FIA before retiring due to health reasons. He most recently worked at Zip and Sip, which was great for Tom as he always was a people person. He never met a stranger and loved spending time on his front porch in Decker visiting with whoever would stop by or singing Dumus Walker as loud as his voice would go. His best days were when the boys or the grandkids were around.

His greatest accomplishments were being a dad and being a papaw. Tom was a member of the Town Board of Decker. He was also an inactive member of the Johnson Township Fire Department. He attended Crossroads Baptist Church in Oakland City, Indiana.

Tom is preceded in death by his father, Thomas W. Culp; his first wife, Teresa Fredrick Culp and son, Zachary Fredrick; and sister-in-law Dallas Fredrick Ducharme. Waiting in heaven for him, also, is a grandchild that he didn't get to meet.

He is survived by his wife of thirty nine years, Penny Gardner Culp, and three of the biggest loves in his life, his three sons. He was so proud of his accomplishments, and he was even more proud of the men that they had become. His sons are Marcus (Katie) Culp of Decker, Cory Culp of Decker and Ryan (Judy) Culp of Vincennes. He never thought of Katie and Judy as in-laws, he thought of them as the daughters he never had. He loved going to VU with Katie and calling Judy with awful Dad jokes.

He is survived by the five grandchildren that were also the loves of his life. He loved being a Dad to the boys but he really loved being a Papaw. He took great pride in everything they did and teaching them the important things in life about the Chicago Cubs, fishing and how to sing, "There's a hole in the middle of the pond". The grandchildren are Lily Grace Culp, Keylee LeAnne Culp, Lucas Martin Culp, Daxton Thomas Culp and Murphy Jo Dawn Culp.

He is also survived by his mom, Linda Lucas Culp; his sister Lisa (James) Ransford; his mother-in-law Vi (Jim) Baker, and his father-in-law Joe Gardner of Lawrenceville; his brothers-in-law Jim (Lori) Gardner of Virginia; Joe (Jacque) Gardner of Lawrenceville, Timothy and Chuck Frederick of Princeton and Lana Knowles of Mt. Carmel. He is also survived by a special cousin, Cherie Culp ( Jay) Wilson and a second mother, Carol J. Farrell. He is also survived by nieces, nephews and cousins.

Tom loved life. The last five years have been hard, but he made time for softball games, baseball games and dance competitions, and fishing. He loved going to concerts and he learned that he loved going to hockey games.

While we are devastated by his loss, we know that his body was worn out from the disease, and we are peaceful because, without a doubt, he is healed in Heaven and probably talking the legs off of Cubs greats Ron Santo, Ernie Banks and Harry Caray as well as trying to figure out if he can fish there.

The family would like to thank Dr. Rafael Lao and Deanna Fields for giving him five more years. We would also like to thank the staff at Davita in Vincennes for all the time spent with you all. We would not have had him as long without their care.

A celebration of Tom's life will be Friday, June 20 starting at 12:00 EST, at Crossroads Baptist Church, 2789 S. State Road 57, Oakland City, Indiana and to be followed by a gathering with family and friends at the Decker Community Center, 313 East Oak Street, Decker, Indiana. The family invites you to wear your favorite Cubs gear to the church and/or the Community Center. If you don't have Cub's gear, support your favorite team, even if it is the Cardinals. On line memories may be shared with Tom's family and friends at www.goodwinsieversfh.com. Goodwin-Sievers Funeral Home is privileged and honored to be entrusted with the care of Tom and his family.