Thomas Lee Vint

To sum up Tom Vint in 500 words is inadequate. He was a storyteller, a writer, a teacher. A

native of Marshalltown, Iowa, and a long-time Omaha resident, Vint was 72 when he lost

his life to COVID-19 on Wednesday.



A lot of words describe him: humble, genuine, kind, welcoming, calming, helpful, even-tempered, integrity-driven and one of the fiercest competitors you ever met. He wouldn’t ever have told you though; it simply wasn’t his style.



Tom Vint is known by all who knew him as a down-to-earth, genuine nice guy. As many said, “One of the good ones.” He was selfless in his actions, always willing to lend a hand. If he wasn’t standing for you, or coming alongside you, he was guiding you just enough to let you learn how to stand on your own. He has been helping people “under the radar” for decades.



He never sought praise for his actions. He helped quietly, supporting people all around him, every single day, without drawing attention to himself. If the weight became too much; he asked the Lord for an assist and they carried it together.



Tom’s stories often reflected how others helped him, rather than the other way around. A well-known family quote came from his father Howard Vint’s final “Talking Turkey’s” column in the Marshalltown Times-Republican, “Writers are a breed of people reluctant to talk about their own accomplishments.” That was Tom, unless he felt the need to boast about his kids or his wife, Georgie.



He never boasted. He never was arrogant and never asked for payback. He simply was a “pay it forward” man of God. Those who knew him were the lucky ones. He was his father’s son: “That’s how I will remember Dad. I wish you could have met him. You would have liked him too.”.



Tom was an Army veteran, a 30-year sports writer/editor, author of the published book “Walking with Dog”, a dog lover, a two-time author of Nebraska Football Championship books, a two-time 300 bowler, a baseball and basketball coach, a college baseball player, a Sunday school teacher, a brother to many, a dad to many, a mentor, a father of two and a grandfather of 4. He was married for 51 years to his high school sweetheart,



He lived his life to serve, and did he ever...he will be missed, but will never be forgotten. If the world had more Tom Vints; it would be a much better place.



Tom’s last bit of advice, “Love God and love others. End of story.”



He is survived by his wife Georgie, son Tim (Shandah) Vint, daughter Mandy (Tim) Troia, 4 grandchildren, brothers Larry, Bill and Jon; sister, Sam Halter; and a large extended family including in-laws, Don and John.



He was preceded in death by sister Judi, and parents Howard and Betty Vint.



A Celebration of a Life Well Lived will be at Westside Church (150th & Dodge) on Saturday, September 12th at 1:30pm.