Thomas Allen Carey

Thomas Allen Carey, 85, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, and friend, passed away peacefully on June 8, 2024. Tom was born to Thomas Alfred Carey and Helen Genevieve Grosvenor Carey on April 2, 1939, in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

He met his high school sweetheart, Karen Tibbitts, while working on the yearbook together at Bountiful High School and they were sealed for time and all eternity on June 19, 1958, in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Tom was a dedicated and educated husband and father, who worked hard to provide for his family. He earned a B.S. in Meteorology (1961), and an M.S. in Computer Science (1970), both from the University of Utah. After working his way through various jobs in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Connecticut, and Chicago, he was thrilled to finally make it to the National Severe Storms Forecast Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He spent 32 years there as a forecaster, programmer, and systems administrator. They lived in Kansas City before settling in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1970 for nearly 30 years and raised their family of six children there. 

Following his retirement from the Weather Service and a brief time with a computer hardware installation company, he began his second career with Oracle Corporation for over 15 years and retired this time as a senior principal consultant. He enjoyed his travels to many different and interesting assignments for Oracle including consulting for the US Department of Defense, CIA, FBI, IRS, NSA, and numerous companies and organizations. While still in Kansas, he and Karen custom designed their future Utah home based on the historic home they owned in Leavenworth, Kansas. They spent nearly 20 years in Alpine, Utah near family and the mountains that they loved. 

Converting to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at age 18, Tom served in many capacities including LDS Bishop, Stake Patriarch, ward financial clerk, Primary teacher, and tech missionary. He and Karen served together as Guest Service missionaries at the LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City. 

He loved opera and classical music, especially Russian composers and Handel’s “Messiah,” and would often get emotional when listening. He loved the stories of history. He enjoyed working with his hands and loved fixing things. One of his favorite t-shirts said, “If it isn’t broken, take it apart and fix it.” Tom was always learning, figuring things out, and shared what he knew with others. As a woodworker, he hand crafted finely carved wood framed mirrors for his sons and hope chests for his daughters. He spent a series of summers at a young age working as a farm hand in Nebraska on family farms driving tractors, cultivating corn, and milking cows. He enjoyed the trust and work responsibilities given to him by his uncles. He later had gardens with corn, pears, peas, apples, and more. He was known for loving popcorn, lemonade, and semi-sweet chocolate. 

Tom contributed to his community as a member of the local school board in Leavenworth, Kansas. He made wooden pens that he sold then donated all proceeds and more to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. He and Karen were also donors and volunteers for the Utah Festival of Trees. 

Tom was preceded in death by his wife Karen, his parents, his son Captain Paul Edwin Carey (Michelle), and two grandsons, Roy Suarez Carey and Ethan Clinton Rapp. He is survived by his sister Diane Robinson (Wally), his children Scott (Sue), Janice Greenhalgh (Phillip), Brent (Teresa), Mark, and Christine Carey Fazulyanov; 21 grandchildren, and 26 great-grandchildren. 

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 15, 2024, at 12:00 noon at the South Jordan Country Park Chapel, 11251 South 2700 West, South Jordan, Utah. Friends and family are invited to attend a viewing on Saturday morning from 10:00-11:30 AM at the church prior to the services. Interment will be at the Memorial Lakeview Cemetery, Bountiful, Utah. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Primary Children’s Hospital or the Alzheimer's Association. Live stream of the funeral service is available at https://www.youtube.com/live/hbacMzrGzxk?si=pYhzJZzeyExs0szj