Thomas Dale Montgomery, of Grand Junction, Colorado, died on December 17, 2020, at St. Mary's Hospital after a month-long battle with COVID-19. He was 74 years old.
Tom was born November 1, 1946, in Mesa, AZ, to Reginald and Margaret Montgomery. He was raised in Arizona, Western Colorado, and Utah. Tom was a proud graduate of the class of 1964 of Grand County High School in Moab, Utah, home of the Red Devils where he lettered in football and baseball. Tom furthered his education by attending the College of Eastern Utah and the College of Southern Utah where he majored in Elementary Education. Tom served his community in the 1970s as a patrol officer and narcotic/homicide detective for the Grand Junction Police Department. As a police officer he was known to be fair and believed in "second chances". These frequently included a stern talk to a young person and their parents. Many times through his life people would come up to him and thank him for pointing them in the right direction instead of just giving them a ticket or arresting them.
Leaving Colorado, Tom moved on to a lifelong career in oil and gas exploration that took him around the globe. His vast knowledge of all aspects of drilling and production in the petroleum industry gave him the reputation of being "the legendary Tom Montgomery" where many new petroleum engineers got their real education after they received their degree and Tom took each one under his wing to teach them the real world of the industry and their responsibility to be sure our planet was taken care of following the strictest guidelines. A self-made man, Tom started at the bottom and culminated his career by starting two successful companies, Eagle Systems, Inc. and Tom Montgomery Consulting from which he retired in 2016.
Tom married Catherine "Cat" Staggs on October 29, 1977, and enjoyed 43 years full of love and fun and being married to each other's best friend. The avid travelers in both their careers and for pleasure, Tom and Cat explored this world together seeing the glaciers of Alaska to the beaches of Hawaii to the sands of the Caribbean and most recently completing one of Tom's bucket list items which was traversing the Panama Canal on an 18 day cruise over last Christmas and New Year's. He also shared the dream trip of lifetime with his son, Matt, and other family members to South Africa. Tom only missed visiting North Dakota, Idaho and Vermont of the fifty states. (Catherine has heard him say "put those final expense on the credit care to get the air miles!") He truly enjoyed new experiences, new people, and the enrichment to his life those experiences brought. He never met a stranger and developed the talent of what his family called "Toming" which included chatting with someone in the line at the grocery store and by the time he was through checkout he knew their life story.
In his spare time, Tom found pleasure in all things outdoors. Speed was an early influence in his life as he raced Jeeps in the sand of western Colorado and eastern Utah. When that wasn't fast enough, he could be found exploring California and Colorado by motorcycle with the occasional kid bungee-corded to the fuel tank of his Gold Wing "for safety". Finally, he took to the skies as a private pilot and volunteer with the Colorado Civil Air Patrol. Tom also could be found wasting good tackle in a futile attempt to retrieve fish from the lakes of Colorado and Arkansas. He had a number of close friends that were pro fishermen and would always promise him success where they had caught fish all day long the day before--only for all of them to not have a single bite with Tom. In 2013 after many years away Tom and Cat returned to the Valley in Western Colorado they loved so much. Tom's true joy was to drive the mountains of Colorado with his wife Cat by his side and his beloved pugs in the back seat. When Cat would ask if someplace was on the way he would always say "it could be". Tom was a Vestry member and active in The Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Grand Junction.
Tom is survived by his wife, Catherine, of Grand Junction, CO; daughters, Dawn (William) Buckovic of Grand Junction, CO; Misty Montgomery Wertz of Greeley, CO, and Brooke Montgomery of Fort Smith, AR; sons, Thomas D. (George Flores) Montgomery of San Jose, CA, and Matthew L. (Mandy) Montgomery of Denver, CO; grandchildren, Cassandra (Sean) Montgomery Sherman, Amber Wertz, Nikole Wertz, Jacob Wertz, Ian Werthmuller, Maggie Werthmuller, Isabella Buckovic and Anna Buckovic. He is also survived by siblings, Lee Montgomery of Boise, ID; Ray Montgomery of Grand Junction, CO; Elaine Bailey of Lodi, CA, and Joe Montgomery of Lodi, CA. He is survived by brothers-in-law, Carl (Kristine) Staggs of Grand Junction, CO, and Hav (Susan) Staggs of Sonoma, CA. He is preceded in death by his parents, Reginald and Margaret Montgomery; father-in-law, Walter Staggs, and mother-in-law, Catherine Helen Staggs, with whom he had a very special relationship.
Due to Covid restrictions a private family service will be held. A celebration of Tom's life will be held at a later date when it is safe to gather.