Ancestor Spotlight: Thomas Patrick Slowey (1896-1963)

Thomas Patrick Slowey is my great grandfather.  He was the 7th of 12 children born to John Charles and Theresa (Burns) Slowey.  He was born on 29 December 1896 in Yankton, South Dakota, and baptized at St. Kyran Catholic Church in Mayfield, South Dakota, on 10 January 1897.  

Wedding Day

Tom lived with his parents in rural Yankton County, South Dakota until 1917, when he married Christina Ann Huber.  The couple were married on 17 April 1917 in Irene, South Dakota.  They had six children between 1918 and 1939, the third being my grandmother.

Tom worked a grain farm in the Irene/Utica area.  While he was still quite young, he got his hand caught in a corn harvesting machine - similar to the one shown below - which did quite a bit of damage.  He had to have surgery to repair his injuries and his bones were wired together.  He was unable to use his hand properly afterward.  Tom was never in the military, and I wonder if his hand injury prevented his enlistment.  His WWI Draft Registration makes no mention of an injury, so it's likely the injury occurred after 1919 (the date on the registration).  

812 Douglas Avenue

He continued farming until sometime between 1940 and 1945, when the family moved to 812 Douglas Avenue.  He worked for a time at an alcohol plant in Yankton, and then worked as a stockyard foreman for Anderson Livestock Sales until he died.

Tom survived a heart attack in October 1960.  Unfortunately, three years later he suffered another heart attack and passed away at Sacred Heart Hospital at 3:50 p.m. on 14 March 1963.  He was 66 years old.  He is buried at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Yankton.

Corn Harvester c. 1920

Do we share any ancestors?

Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com