Thomas John Ernzen, 89, of Waco, TX, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 9, 2025 in Corpus Christi, TX where he had been living with family. Tom was born October 10, 1935, the fourth child and middle son of 8 born to Frances Domann Ernzen and Felix Ernzen. He resided in Atchison County Kansas until 1968 when he married Janice Lee Turner at Sacred Heart Church in Leavenworth. It was a match made in heaven and they were happily married for 52 years until her death in 2020. They lived in Leavenworth and in 1982 moved to Waco, TX but he remained a Kansan at heart. Family was very important to him, and both he and Jan were very proud of their two sons, Brian and Brandon.

Tom graduated in 1953 from Atchison County Community High School where he was very active in school. He was elected class president for 2 years, was in the school play, participated in sports, and belonged to several clubs. His favorite subject was shop class. After graduation, he continued working on the farm where his brother Ron said he was the "go to person" to repair the farm equipment as he had an innate, uncanny ability to fix all things mechanical—he was "Mr. Fix It" from early on. He learned about farming, raising cattle and hogs, and operating construction equipment as a young man. All of these skills served him well later in life. When his father died in 1957, he and brothers Dan and Ron formed the Ernzen Farms partnership that continued until he seized the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream of seeing the world, and that he did!

In 1972, Tom was employed by Slurry Seal, Inc. in Waco as an equipment designer. His strong work ethic, attention to detail, knowledge of mechanics, and the operation of heavy construction equipment all learned on the farm made him the success he was. His first assignment was in Kuwait in 1972, and before he retired in 2003, he had traveled to over 45 countries in Asia (mainly the Middle East and China), Europe, and North and South America primarily starting up emulsion plants and commissioning road-paving equipment. He was instrumental in the paving of the "Highway of Death" between Kuwait City and Basra, Iraq that was later used by Iraqi armored divisions for the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and later by the U.S. and British in the Gulf War. Slurry Seal, Inc. was sold several times and ultimately became part of AkzoNobel, a large multinational company. At his 25th year of service award presentation, he was recognized for having never taken a sick day in 25 years. While employed by AkzoNobel, he was one of 7 employees who were granted two U.S. patents in 2000 and 2001 for inventions related to "petroleum hydrocarbon in water colloidal dispersion". After his retirement, he continued in a consulting role.

Tom never lost his love of farming and retired on the small farm they owned in Texas where he raised cattle, had a hay field, and stayed busy working his mechanical magic on anything needing repair and also inventing and machining equipment parts. He was an excellent storyteller and on trips he made to Kansas to attend family functions he often told of the experiences he had overseas to a rapt audience. He also made trips to Kansas to visit his farming operations in both Atchison and Leavenworth counties. Tom was a strong proponent of soil conservation and received a "Soil Conservation Award" for work he'd had done on his land. Another achievement he was very proud of was making a solo flight in a Piper Colt. His other interests included stock investing, politics, and following world news. Also from teenage years on, he loved to fast dance to Rock and Roll and he was a showstopper! He was a devout, lifelong Catholic who attended mass regularly and whose faith was very important to him. He had a special place in his heart for the little country church of St. Patrick's which was his home parish growing up, as well as for the people of the parish and of the community at large where he continued to maintain friendships. He was a Knights of Columbus member for over 70 years.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Jan who was the love of his life, his siblings Dan Ernzen, Dr. Marie Landwer, Ron Ernzen, and Rita Schuler. He is survived by his two sons and their wives, Brian and Julie Ernzen of Waco, and Brandon and Nicole Ernzen of Corpus Christi, six grandchildren, Emma, Madison, Benjamin, Joshua, Mathias, and Aurora, and siblings Dorothy McDermed and Patsy Penning of Atchison, and Shirley Ernzen of Olathe.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, March 29, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church in Atchison, KS. Interment will follow in the St. Patrick's Church Cemetery. Visitation will be at 10:00 followed by a parish rosary at 10:45 prior to the funeral mass. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, TX or St. Patrick's Cemetery, and may be left in care of Arensberg Pruett Funeral Home.