Thomas Elwood Loader

September 7, 1943 - December 11, 2021

Thomas Elwood Loader,78, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones on December 11, 2021. Tom was born in American Fork to Dale Loader and Sadie Fay Hallsey on September 7th, 1943. He joined sister Linda and later became an older brother to Gail & Clinton. Tom learned early in life how to be a hard worker by farming, tending gardens and peddling fruit with his family. He was glad that he grew up in the good old days, shooting bb guns, making your own toys, using your imagination to entertain yourself, hanging out at the frog pond and chasing the streets with his lifelong childhood friends. He graduated from American Fork high school in 1961. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Army with his best friend and served most of his 4 years in Germany as a helicopter mechanic. He was honorably discharged in 1965. When he returned from the army, he attended the University of Utah to learn about History and Archeology. During his time there he was able to travel to Israel on an archeological dig and loved to share his remarkable stories from his time there. He married Joanne Snyder in 1967, they were later divorced. He worked at Geneva Steel for a time, but eventually became an ironworker with the Intermountain Ironworkers Local 27 union. He traveled around in his truck and camper, with his faithful dog Soda, to many different jobsites throughout the western United States. He met Connie Larsen Hawkins in 1974 and they were married in 1976, he helped to raise Mike and they later had a daughter together, Lissie (Melissa). He spent 45 years creating a beautiful natural landscaped yard at their home in American Fork. He loved to plant trees and a vegetable garden, and he and Connie shared the fruits of their labor with many friends, neighbors and loved ones. He was so proud when 3 of his trees were added to the Utah Big Trees registry last year. Tom was injured while ironworking in the mid-eighties and ended up finding a new career in antiques. He spent Friday and Saturday mornings hitting every yard sale in Utah County looking for treasures (and any other good deal) to fill his antique shop. He ran Lake City Antiques in his home for over 20 years, he eventually transitioned to sell in other locations, his latest at Treasures Antiques in Springville. He loved going down every week to meet with his friends and talk shop. He really enjoyed collecting trade tokens, pottery, art & historical documents, along with many other things. He was also great at refinishing furniture. Tom enjoyed collecting but found even more pleasure in the research that went behind the items he collected; he loved the history behind it. He found many photos, post cards and documents in his travels and was overjoyed when he had the opportunity to connect them with the families to which they were related. Tom had many hobbies, he particularly loved to arrowhead hunt, bird watch, visit museums, travel to the various plant nurseries in the state searching for unusual plants, flowers, and trees. He was an avid nature lover, the perfect definition of a tree hugger, he was very passionate about the environment and trying to make the world a better place for his kids and grandkids. Tom had many good friends over the years, there are many fond memories of them gathered at the house to shoot the breeze, play cards, put together puzzles and have a “thirsty Thursday” … there was always a wealth of knowledge on the most interesting topics, a little BS, and the most hilarious stories being told around the table and out in the yard. Tom lucked out and found out about a new son, Eric, in 2019. He was so grateful that they had the opportunity to meet and treasured the time they got to spend together. Tom loved all his family, but his greatest happiness in life were his grandchildren. He and Connie spent most of their golden years raising Zach and babysitting Christian and Maddie. He spent many years pushing all three of them around town in the Cadillac buggy. He made sure they always stopped at the donut store during their walks. He loved passing along his knowledge about antiques, plants, fixing things, nature, conservationism, thriftiness, music, and life to them. He encouraged and supported them in every aspect of their lives. We will all miss his greeting of “Helluuu”, his Donald duck birthday voice, his fantastic mustache, his adventurous stories from his younger years, and all the conversations that began with “the thing about it is”, along with so many other things. He was one of a kind. Tom is survived by his wife Connie, sons Mike Hawkins, Eric Saylor (Klaudia), daughter Lissie, son in law, Jason Miller and grandchildren Zach Hawkins, Christian MacDonald and Madeline Miller, also sister Linda Jenkins (Vernon) and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Sadie & Dale and siblings Clinton & Gail Loader and many dear lifelong friends. Graveside services will be at the American Fork Cemetery on Saturday, January 15th at 1pm, followed by a Celebration of Life at the Fox Hollow Golf Club, 1400 N 200 E, American Fork, Utah from 2-5pm. Please stop by for a drink and snack and bring your favorite stories about Tom. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity and/or plant a flower, vegetable garden or a tree. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.