Thomas Joseph O'Dea

On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, Tom O'Dea, devoted husband and loving father and grandfather, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 82. Tom was welcomed with open arms to heaven by his son, Patrick, his brother Patrick, and his parents, Beatrice and Patrick. He is survived by his wife Kay, daughter Christy and son-in-law Christian Busken, and grandchildren Marin, Maura, and Jack O'Dea and Melina Busken. Born to Irish immigrants in the Bronx on July 7, 1938, he attended St. Jerome's Catholic school and entered the Christian Brothers, where he served as a high school science teacher for many years in upstate New York. He received his bachelor's degree in physics from the Catholic University, master's degree from State University of New York, and completed post-graduate studies in physics at Northwestern University in Chicago. In 1969 in Chicago, he met the love of his life, Kay, and they were married on July 11, 1970. He was the Director the first Department of Biomedical Engineering at Evanston Hospital. After the birth of Christy and Patrick, the family moved to Shoreview, Minnesota, where Tom took a position as Director of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. In 1993, after a long battle with brain cancer, his son Patrick went to heaven. Tom was a true lifelong learner, earning a PhD in medical imaging in 2001 at the age of 63. Even after retirement from the University of Minnesota, he continued his passion for biomedical engineering through many "projects" that he was constantly working on in the early hours of the morning and secured a number of patents for his work. Tom was active in his parish and community at St. Rose of Lima in Roseville, Minnesota, where he served on the parish council for many years. As a Knight of Columbus, he served in many positions over the years and as Grand Knight for three years. Tom was known as a friend to all and an eternal optimist. He had a cheerful, positive disposition, infectious laughter, and was a proud Irishman. But most of all, Tom was a devoted husband. His marriage to Kay is a true example of Christian marriage and devotion. Tom was a supporter of many charities over his lifetime. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to one of the following charities: Wishes and More (https://wishesandmore.org/) , Brothers of the Christian Schools, District of Eastern North America ( https://www.fscdena.org/), Poor Clare Sisters (https://poorclaresc.com/), University of Dayton Campus Ministry (https://udayton.edu/advancement/give/index.php ) or Totino-Grace High School (https://www.totinograce.org/support-tg/make-a-gift). Friends and family are welcome to come together virtually to celebrate Tom's life at a virtual Irish wake on Thursday, December 17 at 7 pm Eastern Standard Time at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81634387455?pwd=RHZRNzR1cC9sb2VPREpmVUhxV3U5dz09 Funeral services will be held at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Montgomery, Ohio on Friday, December 18, 2020 at 12:00 Eastern Standard Time. The Mass can be live streamed at: https://good-shepherd.org/live-stream-good-shepherd-mass A burial service will be held on Monday, January 4, 2021 at 11 am Central Standard Time at Roselawn Cemetery in Roseville, Minnesota.

Tributes

Thomas Joseph O'Dea

July 7, 1938 - December 8, 2020

Tributes

Thomas Joseph O'Dea

July 7, 1938 - December 8, 2020

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