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Tom was born on May 24, 1929 in St. Francis Hospital, Peoria, IL. On September 3, 1955 he married Betty Rogy.
Tom grew up at 408 E. McClure Avenue. He took popular piano lessons from a local band fellow for 4 or 5 years. Tom says "I can't play, but I do have an appreciation for music."
At Glen Oak School he won the Marble championship in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. He says "I now have and arthritic thumb."
" Dad started grade school at
Columbia, in the 3rd grade he was moved to Glen Oak. He went from there to
Woodruff High School, where he played halfback on the varsity football team for 2 years, and ran the 1/2 mile and 1 mile for the the track team all 4 years."
"Dad went into the Army in 1951. I know for sure he got out in
1953, because he always tells about that being the
year the bakery moved from downtown to Prospect Rd.,
and how he was out in time to get in on helping with
the move. He served in Germany."
"Dad graduated from the American Institute of
Baking in 1954."
"Dad has always been interested in sports, and
continues to follow them regularly (and probably more
closely) in his retirement. He is a Bears fan, a Cubs fan, and a Bradley basketball fan.
He and Mom still work at the church (it's actually
Mom's job; Dad became her unofficial "assistant" after
he retired from the bakery) with the senior citizens
group on Thursdays. He enjoys swimming at the
Riverplex, a recreational facility where he and Mom go
to "work out" three times a week. He also has been
active over the years with his high school reunion
group, and they meet for lunch once a month throughout
the year. He dabbles in gardening a little bit, too." by Tom Trefzger, Jr.
"Tom was into football and track in high school. He was in the army
during the Korean War era, but was stationed in Germany. Obviously I
don't have as much detail on his activities. I think he was a pretty
good student, top 10 of his class (actually 5th in his class). Today Tom is also into fitness, and is
active in church activities at First English Lutheran Church in Peoria.
" by 'Butch' Trefzger
Tom learned the Bakery business from his Dad. Tom worked in the family bakery until he had a heart attack in 1993.
”I am not sure if you knew that my dad's health has declined pretty significantly, beginning in late fall 2011. We took him to ER one night with a pain in his lower left leg. It was diagnosed as peripheral artery disease, but the physicians felt it could be treated with meds and he could continue what was a fairly active lifestyle for his age at that time (82). Unfortunately, only two weeks later a spot developed on his foot, which quickly progressed to gangrene. By the time all of the people involved in the case became aware of how bad things had gotten, he was lucky the infection which had developed had not spread throughout the rest of his body. He first had his foot amputated. After further analysis of his circulatory system in what remained of the leg, it was determined further amputation was necessary. It ended up with amputation above the knee.
He came home after a month in St. Francis, but things did not go well in trying to take care of him at home. (Dad also has Alzheimer's, so he was not able to retain much of the therapy he had. He was very confused by all that happened.) In January 2012 the same problem developed in his right foot, and we learned the right leg had the same type of condition. This time, since we had specialists involved from the start, it was determined to wait to operate until after the "benefits outweighed the risks." In early April, Dad had his right leg also amputated above the knee.
Only four days after that surgery, Dad moved to Lutheran Hillside Village's healthcare center. He has lived there ever since. Despite all that I've told you, he has probably been better mentally and physically since he moved there. Mom visits him for a significant part of each day, which makes all the difference in the world. Even with the hours she spends at the home, she is probably also better than she was when she (with help from my brother Tim, who lives in the house with Mom and Dad, and me, when not at work; I live next door to them) was trying to take care of Dad at home.”
by Tom Trefzger,Jr.
Tom died on April 27, 2017.
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