Obituary of Thomas Royal Kimble

Thomas "Tom" Royal Kimble Sr., age 91, of Hawley, PA, passed away peacefully on January 4, 2022 at the home of his daughter, Kathleen Kimble. At the time of his death and in the days leading up to it, he was blessed to be surrounded by the love and comfort of his family that joined by his side. He is preceded in death by his parents, Russel Kimble and Gladys Ramage, of Lake Ariel, PA; his former wife, Patricia Kimble of Union Springs, NY; and five of his children, Timothy Kimble, Grant DeGroat, Judith Kimble, Paul Kimble; and Thomas Kimble Jr. Thomas Kimble was born May 15, 1930 in Hawley, PA. He was a proud WWII Navy veteran and believed joining the military was a turning point in his life that taught him he really could be anything. He retired from a lifelong career with K&B Engineering and spent time as a consultant for Alcatel. He was a hard worker who led many crews of men that no doubt learned a lot from him about the engineering of microwave towers. Both his military time and work experiences enabled him to travel the world. He was proud to have visited or worked in every state in the USA and numerous foreign countries and continents. He loved to tell stories of the places he visited and the people he met along the way. Whether it be a captivating story of adventure or a long engaging story that ended with a punchline, he definitely could spin a yarn and was a man who made an art of storytelling. Tom loved living in the country and was an avid outdoorsman, who spent as much time as possible surrounded by nature. He particularly loved hunting, fishing, and golfing, and was quite skilled at all three. It was his pleasure to pass on these skills to a great number of friends and family, and encourage them, usually in vain, to outdo him. He was smart and cunning when it came to his passions, making it a hard task to defeat him at any sport or game; and therefore, it was a cause for great celebration and bragging rights by others when it happened. Eventually in life, he settled in Union Springs, NY with his wife Pattie.Together they loved being active and spending time with each other, as well as with family and friends. Tom always enjoyed black coffee before the sun came up at the local Be Happy Cafe, where he and his friends would "solve all the world's problems" as he used to say with a smile. Some of his other favorite pastimes included cooking, woodworking, painting, gardening, writing, reading westerns, and bird watching, the latter of which led to the hobby of trying to find ingenious ways to keep squirrels out of his bird feeders. Tom was such a friendly man, someone about whom you would say never met a stranger. He made it his business to make the people he encountered throughout the day smile, whether he knew them or not. He especially enjoyed entertaining children with his hijinks, and approaching unknown people with a friendly joke. Oh, the stories! He loved a good joke and was responsible for many a prank, usually harmless, but always hilarious. You could definitely describe him as a social person who stayed busy. He truly loved people and was never satisfied just sitting still, unless he happened to be sitting outside watching for deer. He is survived by his his sister, Tilly Kimble of Liberty, NY; his sister Dorothy Esselman and husband Herman Esselmman of Lake Huntington, NY; his brother Fred Kimble and wife Betty Kimble of FL; his brother Donny Kimble and wife Marilyn Kimble also of FL; his brother Richard DeGroat of Spring, TX; his son Truman Kimble and wife Mary Kimble of Ogdensburg, NY; his son Robert Kimble and wife Helen Kimble of MD; his son Andrew kimble and wife Sherrie Kimble of Honesdale, PA; his son Edward Kimble and wife Nancy Kimble of Honesdale, PA; his daughter Kathleen Kimble of Hawley, NY; his daughter Karen "Suzy" McCormick and husband Jason McCormick of Tomball, TX; his stepdaughter Julie Hunt and husband Gary Hunt of Union Springs; his stepdaughter Dr. Patricia Williams and husband Gary Williams of Westmont, IL; and his stepson Julius (Bob) Botelho and wife Nancy Bothelo of Inyokern, CA. He was blessed with 19 grandchildren; 9 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren and many more loving family members and friends who were like family to him. The family will hold a memorial service in the spring at a time to be determined. If you would like to, you can honor the memory of Thomas's spirit by contributing in his name to the National Parks Conservation Association here- Memorial & Tribute Giving. He had a great respect for public parks, local and national, and park rangers as well, often speaking very fondly of his Uncle George,the park ranger, whom he lived with for a period of time as a young boy. Arrangements are attended by Arthur A. Bryant Funeral Home 1228 Main St Honesdale, Pa.