Saturday, May 6th, 2023
Thomas VonderHaar
Thomas ("Tom") Edward VonderHaar, MD of Evansville, Indiana, passed away March 27, 2023, a little shy of his 95th birthday.
Tom was born April 26, 1928, in Celina, OH, to Roman and Bernadette (Pulskamp) VonderHaar.
He had five younger siblings: Rose Anne, Mary, Tess and John survive him; Ruth predeceased him. A skilled clarinet player, Tom performed taps as a teenager for military funerals during World War II. He graduated from Immaculate Conception High School in 1946. He went on to earn his Bachelor's Degree and Medical Degree from the University of Louisville, finishing in 1953. While there, he noticed a special young lady (in the first class of UL's business school that graduated 4 women) and asked her for a date. It ended up leading to something equally special - Tom married Doris "Rusti" Russell on October 16, 1954 in Louisville. Following US Air Force service in Wichita and his residencies in Philadelphia and Detroit, the young family settled in Evansville in 1960. Tom was the physician for many area patients over his 48 years as an internist, primarily in his founding role with Evansville Internal Medicine Associates.
Growing up near Ohio's Grand Lake, Tom dreamed of owning a cabin and a boat for water skiing. Throughout the 1970s and 80s, he taught all his children and many of their friends how to ski for the first time on Rough River Lake in Kentucky. Our Mom inspired him to travel the world with her; they did annual foreign trips covering all seven continents over five decades. This greatly complemented her 38-year international travel agent career.
Rusti predeceased her husband of 2/3 of a century in 2021 at age 90.
After reaching the age of 80, Tom retired in 2008 after a half century of serving patients. Then, he helped Deaconess Health with medical research and started to spend time with the Rotary Club and the ROMEO (retired old men eating out) Club. A member of national and state medical associations as well as the Knights of Columbus.
Tom is survived by six children: Tom Jr (Lisa) of Redding, CA; Steve (Michelle) of Palo Alto, CA; Karen of Newton, MA; Eric (Cathy) of Boise, ID; Alex (Clare) of Eugene, OR; Mark of Carbondale, CO; and 7 grandchildren: Baxter, Rachael, Camden, Mila, Russell "Coco", Michael and Sylvie.
Tom was a regular churchgoer and a great believer in Catholic education. They sent all six children through Holy Rosary School and Memorial High School.
The tribute to Tom's life on Friday, May 12 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (1301 S. Green River Rd.) will begin with a 10am rosary service.
The 11am Funeral Mass will be followed by a luncheon on-site to celebrate the lives of both Tom and Rusti.
Our gratitude goes out to the staff of the Evansville Protestant Home for the excellent care of both Tom and Rusti and to the Holy Rosary volunteers who brought Holy Communion to Dad. In addition, Emily Murphy, NP and William Hardesty MD, a former partner of our Dad, were especially helpful. Heritage Hospice made their final days more comfortable.
Condolences may be made to the family online at boonefuneralhome.net.
Gifts in his memory may be contributed to Holy Rosary Catholic School, Holy Rosary Church or to the Evansville Protestant Home's wellness trail project.
