Thomas Edward Ware Jr

Sadly, we lost our dad, Thomas Edward Ware, Jr., on April 21 after a four-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

In true Dad fashion, he spent those months organizing the details of his life, creating neat little piles in his office and leaving behind notes to himself that even Sherlock Holmes couldn’t decipher. And honestly, that’s Dad to the core.

Dad core is now Dad lore.

Born October, 1940, in Little Rock, Arkansas, he graduated from Hall High School and went on to earn a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas in 1966. He built a career as an oil and gas man in Houston and Louisiana.

He loved a terrible Dad joke, and there were many! He also had a gift for finding two pennies to rub together. He wasn’t cheap, but somehow we always ended up leaving extra money on the table for the server, just in case his “tip math” needed a little help.

Driving through Little Rock with him was like getting a personal history tour, complete with stories about where he grew up, our family roots, and yes… where he dated. And he dated at least half of Little Rock. Once, if not twice.

In his final week, he was moved to a private home in Magnolia, Texas, where he continued issuing orders to his faithful “minions”: Terri Ware Glowe, Christy Ware Sears, Wes Ware, Lisa Kern Charpentier, and Chad Charpentier. Some things never change and that brought us joy.

We take comfort in knowing he was greeted in heaven by his parents, Thomas Edward Ware, Sr., and Viola Hoffman Ware, many lifelong friends, and his beloved wife, Wanda Kern Ware, who likely welcomed him (in her unmistakable, adorable Cajun accent) with, “Shit, Tom! What took you so long?”

Dad will be laid to rest with Wanda in Morgan City, Louisiana. And in a final nod to his humor, his favorite joke has come full circle: “People are just dying to get in there.”

Rest well, Dad. We love you.