Thomas Edwin Erwin

Thomas Edwin Erwin died following a courageous, dogged fight with cancer, in his home in Indianapolis on July 31, 2021. He was born January 5, 1955 to the late Thomas Barton Erwin and Nancy Ann Maynard in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Tom grew up in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood that he loved, and he lived here for most of his life. As a kid, he and his friend Jeff Harrell spent their days at Broadway Park, along with other neighborhood boys and Tom’s older brother Jim, who served as protector. They would play baseball all day, every day, until they were called home for dinner. Baseball would continue to be Tom’s lifelong love.

He was a member of Second Presbyterian Church growing up, and attended School 80 where he has many good memories with his friend David Ryder. He graduated from Broad Ripple High School, class of 1973. For Tom, there was Broad Ripple, and there was everywhere else. Anything south of 46^th Street was “The South Side.”

Tom met Kathy on Halloween night in 1984. They married on November 23^rd, 1985 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, where they have been members ever since. After brief stints in Fort Wayne and Toledo, Ohio, with Standard Coffee, Tom’s job brought them back home to Indianapolis. They moved back to the Broad Ripple area, living in the same house in Oxford Village ever since. It was the perfect neighborhood to raise Graham and Alicia, surrounded by many young families like theirs. They all raised their kids together, and many of the kids and the parents forged friendships that remain today, with most of the parents still living in the same houses.

For a number of years, Tom served as president of the Oxford Village Neighborhood Association and organized annual block parties that were fun for parents and children alike. Ever a people person, he called on grocery stores to donate food and drinks for the party, and Broad Ripple restaurants to donate gift cards that served as prizes for the various games. He even had an “Oxford Village Euchre Tournament Champion” trophy donated from the trophy shop on Broad Ripple Ave. The kids from the neighborhood still talk about the DJ, fog machine, lights, and games. When asked if the Erwins ever had plans on moving, Tom always said the same thing, “We’re not going anywhere, we’re going to die right here.”

Tom and Kathy started a transcription business in 1991, Transcription Plus, which Kathy still manages today.

Tom loved all types of music, and live music was the best. His first concert was The Beatles in 1964 at the State Fair Coliseum. Thanks to Soapy and Aunt Betty (Aunt “B”), he and Jim had two tickets, one in the 10^th row and one in the 18^th row, so they switched seats halfway through the concert. Jim called it “as nuts a concert as anyone I have ever been to.” Tom didn’t understand why the girls were all falling over each other and screaming—he was 9 at the time!—but he loved it.

Tom was at the Tom Petty concert at Deer Creek in the summer of 2005, along with their usual concert crew, Kathy, Chris and Allison Long, Karen (sister-in-law) and friend Susie Gilbert. Halfway through the show, a terrible thunderstorm rolled into town, which unleashed several inches of rain over the course of a few hours. Eventually the tornado sirens went off, but Tom, Karen, and Susie kept on rockin’ on the lawn. The power cut out, but the audience didn’t miss a beat, singing, “You don’t have to live like a refugee…” When the electricity returned, the band picked up right where the crowd was. Petty mentioned it when he played at Deer Creek the following year, saying, “I’ve been telling that story all year.”

Tom loved all sports. He grew up playing baseball and basketball. Their family briefly moved to Anaheim, California, near Los Angeles, when Tom was eight. While watching a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants on TV, Tom declared the Giants his favorite team—he loved Willie Mays. He never wavered from the Giants. It was a LONG wait and a lot of rooting, but he was able to see his Giants win the World Series in 2010 (and twice thereafter). He loved to visit his son Graham in San Francisco, where he made an annual pilgrimage for several years to see the Giants play in person. During the 2020 COVID pandemic with no fans allowed, Tom’s mother-in-law Marcia ordered a cardboard cutout of Tom that was placed in the stadium. He returned again this year in 2021 for a game with the family.

Golf was also a passion, and he played weekly for years with the Fearsome Foursome: Tom (Tommy), Mark Gilbert (Gil), Jim Loyd (Loyd), and John Storm (Stormy). Tom was all in with every swing, like it was the last time he was going to hold a golf club, sometimes nearly falling over in the process. He and Mark played JV golf at Broad Ripple High School because they could play for free at Riverside Golf Course. Kathy remembers the time the two of them played the Key West course, Kathy asking him if he was going to lay up on a shot. Tom’s response, “I didn’t come here to lay up.” He went for it!

Tom definitely passed on his love of sports to his children. He enjoyed coaching Graham’s and Alicia’s baseball, basketball, and softball teams all through their elementary school years. They grew up playing catch together in the backyard and spending summer days at the Riviera Club (in Broad Ripple – where else?!). Graham’s friend Brandon Terry learned how to play baseball from him and also received a lot of his love for IU Basketball from Tom.

Tom loved his family, and family was very important to him. He tenderly cared for his Aunt B (Ruth Elizabeth Hawkins) and his mother Nancy in the later years of their lives. Tom’s children, Graham and Alicia, were his pride and joy. Both went on to obtain graduate degrees, Alicia from Northwestern and Graham from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. More importantly, he watched them grow into strong, confident, caring, and compassionate young adults with integrity and character. As the kids moved hither and yon with their studies and careers, Tom stayed close with them. Either the kids came home or Tom and Kathy went to visit them, and of course, many phone calls.

No secret here – Tom had a sweet tooth that was rivalled by very few people. 2,000 calories worth of refined sugar would fill his plate in the form of ice cream, chocolate cake, and banana pudding at the annual family outing to General Butler State Park in Carrollton, Kentucky. He and Gene (father-in-law) would take a stash of the banana pudding from the buffet for a midnight snack. And true to form, his family recently discovered his iPhone case contained melted chocolate, either Milky Way or brownie, or both.

He loved to travel, and was able to see much of the States, as well as Argentina with Alicia on her study-abroad program. The Erwin’s vacationed in many cities in Florida before settling on Key Colony Beach, where they have been vacationing for the last 20 years. He loved to listen to Jimmy Buffet, read a good John Sandford or James Patterson book at the Cabana Club, and more recently his renewed hobby of fishing with his son-in-law-to-be Jared and Tom’s favorite four-legged buddy Sammy. Key Colony was Tom’s favorite place on Earth.

Tom was quick to adopt the latest piece of technology. With Amazon’s Alexa, he ordered groceries, sweets (of course), and a new piece of sculpture art, aptly named “Eclectic Monkey,” which has a prime spot in the living room.

He loved his pets, and their dog Sammy stuck with him to the end. During a stay in the hospital, Tom had the nurse wheel him outside to the hospital turn-around where Sammy was waiting for a visit. Sammy was his co-pilot (Tom’s phrase), which was true literally and metaphorically. As Tom declined in health, the vehicle changed, but the co-pilot didn’t: Sammy would climb into his hospital bed at home to be by his side.

Tom was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer in 2014. He battled with strength and lightheartedness over the next seven years, outliving even the most optimistic survival predictions. He had many, many good times, trips, and laughs during that time. He remained in good spirits until the end, laughing, joking, and singing with the nurses and the amazing team that cared for him. His family is proud of the grace with which he battled his disease.

Tom will be remembered for his smile, his easy-going demeanor, his love of family and friends, and his dogged determination at whatever he did.

He is preceded in death by his mother Nancy A. Erwin (Maynard), father Thomas B. Erwin, and eldest brother John David (JD) Erwin. He is survived by his wife Kathy Erwin (Wever), son Graham Scott Erwin, daughter Alicia Anne Erwin, future son-in-law Jared Brett, brother James (Jim) Erwin, niece Brianne Erwin, nephews Bill and Brett Erwin, sister-in-law Karen Wever, and mother-in-law Marcia Wever (Brown).

The funeral service will be performed by family friend Reverend Gale Stutz on Saturday, August 7, 2021 at Flanner Buchanan – Oaklawn Memorial Gardens (9700 Allisonville Road). Visitation will be from 3–5 pm, and the funeral will be at 5 pm.  To view a livestream of the service please click HERE.  In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Allisonville Youth Baseball-Softball (where Tom coached Graham and Alicia) or the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation (where he frequented).

If you give to the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation in memory of Tom Erwin, donations will go toward a permanent book tile in his memory at the Glendale Library, and the money will be used by the foundation to benefit all Marion County Public Library patrons. 75% of the public library programs are funded by the Foundation.  Donations to the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation can be made by clicking HERE.

Or, you can donate to support the little league where Tom coached Graham and Alicia in baseball and softball growing up by clicking HERE, or sending check or cash to:

Allisonville Youth Baseball & Softball

c/o Jim Pike

In memory of Tom Erwin

3740 Briarwood Drive

Indianapolis, IN 46240