Thomas N. Sisk

Thomas N. Sisk passed away on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at a care facility in Tucson Arizona.  He was 98 years old.  He was the last surviving member of a large family from Gallatin County. Samuel and Elizabeth Sisk had sixteen children, twelve of whom lived to adulthood.  One daughter died at the age of fourteen and three triplet daughters died as infants.  Most of the siblings left the area as young people and now have descendants spread across all regions of the country.  He was born on Oct. 11, 1922, at Guineaville, a small coal mining town, also known as Lawler Station, near the intersection of Illinois Routes 1 and 13.  He attended Hickory Hill country school for one year before the Sisk family moved to Equality in 1928. His was a long life, lived to the fullest, filled with adventure.  Tom himself left the area as a young man, having grown up with what only could be described as an advanced case of wanderlust.  This was borne out by his residency not only in various parts of the country but in other regions of the world, as well.  Jobs with major construction companies took him overseas to Guam, Vietnam, Peru, Saudi Arabia and, in retirement, Mexico, Myrtle Beach South Carolina, and finally to Tucson.  As a young adult, he followed an older brother to East St. Louis and soon took advantage of an opportunity to work at a Civilian Conservation Camp in Kentucky.  The CCC was part of a government program to help lift the United States out of the Great Depression and provided work for single men between the ages of eighteen and twenty.  During World War Two, he enlisted in the Coast Guard, serving as Ship's Cook First Class. The ship, which saw service in the South Pacific, participated in invasions of New Guinea and the Philippine Islands.  After the ship was heavily damaged by a fire and returned to the U.S., he was assigned to another ship which worked out of the Panama Canal Zone, training submarines.  For his services, he received six medals, one for each campaign in which he was involved, including the World War Two Victory Medal.  He retained for decades his membership in the Equality McLean-Glover American Legion Post 595.  Tom was unique in his ability and determination to stay in touch with just about everybody he had ever known.  Long before technology made it possible to be in instant communication anywhere in the world, he used what he had:  a pen and paper. And a camera, as the cards and letters he sent not only contained the hand-written reports of his life, but also the photographs to illustrate them.  Every friend and family member has a trove of his pictures, with date and place noted on the back.  On occasion, the time of day.  More often than not there were enclosures of a news item or two which had caught his eye.  He made multiple copies to share with his wide circle of recipients.  Sending Christmas cards was not enough.  He covered other special days as well: Easter, Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en, to say nothing of remembering to send birthday cards.  And he never saw a postcard he didn't like.  Packages bearing international postmarks and containing exotic souvenirs landed in his sisters' mailboxes.  He also stayed in touch by phone, not only with family but friends, as well,  many of them from childhood.  He was a generous Uncle, lending a hand to a niece or nephew who needed help and keeping track of their milestones such as graduations, jobs and births of their children.  Although for most of his life he lived a great distance from where he grew up, he made frequent visits to his hometown and environs and was a faithful attendee of the Sisk Family Reunions.  He also made visits to family members in other parts of the country. Tom is survived by his wife, Pin Sisk, of Tucson, whom he met in Vietnam when both were working in an office in Saigon.  They were married there in 1970 and came together to the U.S. in 1973.  Her Chinese family relocated to Vietnam after the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949.  Her Grandfather, arriving there as a teenager with no money, became a successful businessman, operating a steel company as well as a coffee plantation.  The family's businesses and other properties were confiscated after the Communists came to power in 1974. Thereafter, family  members emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Tucson.  Other survivors include his son-in-law, Pete Santos, of Tucson, widower of Tom's only child, Elizabeth, who died in 2005, and two grandchildren, Tommy (Amy) Santos of Tucson and Heidi (Eddie) Giron of Colorado Springs Colorado.  Great grandchildren include Andrew, Lennae, Maile and Tatiana Santos and Pedro and Eddie Jr. Giron. Representing the Sisk family's next generation in the area are John Sisk who lives in Ridgway and Frank Sisk, in Equality, the sons of Tom's brother Bill Sisk.  Both John and Frank have operated businesses in the area and Frank has served for many years as Mayor of Equality and previously owned the "Red Onion" restaurant there.  Following cremation, Tom's remains will be in the care of the Vickery Funeral Chapel in Equality.  When safe conditions permit, there will be a family gathering for a graveside service and interment at Elmwood Cemetery near Equality where several generations of the Sisk family are buried. The family will gather to lay to rest this last member of a large beloved family and to share memories of him and the equally unforgettable sisters and brothers who preceded him in death.