Thomas Lewis Jirak

July 16, 1940 - February 11, 2022

Jirak, Tom beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, beautiful person, and friend passed away on Friday, February 11, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren. He was 81 years old. During Tom's over 35 years at Medtronic, he received 13 individual U.S. patents and numerous awards for his work as a pacemaking engineer. While he appreciated these awards, he most valued the camaraderie and fun he had with his colleagues and friends. 'FutureCare', a business he founded in the late 1980's with friends from Medtronic, laid the groundwork for today's telemedicine and remote care. FutureCare was unfortunately ahead of its time, but Tom lived long enough to see his vision of improving health care access, especially in rural areas, fulfilled. Tom pursued many other interests throughout his life, most notably photography. He went on several photographic trips, took classes from artist Wing Huie, and filled books and slide carousels with photos of family, friends, and complete strangers. He also showed cattle in 4H, tinkered with robots, wrote haiku and poetry, studied graphic design, was an avid reader, especially of Sufi mystic poet Rumi, and loved listening to music, especially jazz. More than anything, Tom loved spending time with his family. We fondly remember camping trips, fishing, posing for photos, 'take your children to work' days, visits to Grandma Jirak's store in Jackson Junction, Iowa, that canoe adventure with the grandchildren, and sharing music, good food, and drinks. His deep love for his family and friends was evident throughout his life and we'll miss him tremendously. Tom was preceded in death by parents Cyril and Rose (Kinkor) Jirak. He is survived by Helen, his loving wife of nearly 57 years, three children Amy (Ken) Ries, Sarah Jirak, Peter (Kelly) Eldritch; three grandchildren Elizabeth (Luis) Sarmiento, Luke Ries, Isaac Ries; two great-grandchildren Lucia and Emilio, and a host of family and friends. There is a bridge of memory/from earth to heaven above/it keeps our dear ones near us/it's the bridge that we call love. Memorial service 11AM Saturday, March 5, 2022 with visitation starting one hour prior at: Washburn-McReavy.com Northeast Chapel 612-781-6828 2901 Johnson St. N.E., Mpls