Thomas Martin Stockamp , 86, of rural Columbia City, passed away peacefully in his barn office at the Stockamp Ranch at 7:14 p.m. Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Born on February 25, 1939, in Seymour, Indiana, he was a son of the late Lawrence and Wilma (Kruse) Stockamp.  Growing up on a small farm caring for cattle, a goat named Pucky that he sometimes rode, and other small animals, he developed a life-long passion for all animals.  At age 12, the family moved to Fort Wayne, where he graduated from Concordia Lutheran High School in 1957.  He began his college education at Purdue University, West Lafayette, but big college life soon drained him emotionally and fiscally.  Returning to Fort Wayne, he discovered Indiana Technical College with its smaller class size and dedicated professors.  He flourished in this educational environment, graduating Magna cum laude with a 4.0 GPA and earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1963.  In 1998, he was bestowed an honorary Doctor of Civil Engineering degree from Indiana Tech.

On September 3, 1960, he married his high school sweetheart, Laurel Jeanne Hawthorne, beginning their 64-year journey together raising four children.  For the past 47 years, they have lived on the Stockamp Ranch outside of Columbia City.

Tom began his work career with the Indiana Highway Dept. while working on his degree at Indiana Tech.  After graduation, he took a job with Old Fort Supply, Fort Wayne, where he was the project manager for the first of its kind, state-of-the-art computerized concrete plant.  Desiring to own his own company, he started Landmovers Excavating Company.  After selling the company, he started T-G Excavating doing projects throughout the state.  Seeking new opportunities for his business, he found it in the oil and gas-rich areas of the south and southwestern United States.  He established an office in Tulsa, OK joining his offices in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.

A generous man, he remembered those who helped him find his path in life, establishing the Stockamp Scholarship Fund at Indiana Tech.  He also annually shared a portion of the company profits with his employees and, as a man of faith, to his church.

In his senior years, his enduring love of animals continued as he regularly fed the birds, watched the deer from his courtyard, and kept the dozen barn cats healthy and well fed.  Always competitive, he reveled in a good game of bridge or croquet.  He and his wife shared nightly devotionals, always ending with the Lord's Prayer.

Surviving is his beloved wife, Laurel; children, Cassandra Stockamp of Columbia City, Kurt (Tommi) Stockamp of Pensacola, FL, and Christopher Stockamp of Columbia City; grandchildren, Brant, Sophia, Megan (Brian), and Chandler Stockamp, Sydney & Audrey Heile; and a brother, Fred Stockamp of Angola.

Additionally, he was preceded in death by a son, Clifford Stockamp, a sister, Sue Ritter, and a brother, Robert Stockamp.

The funeral service is at 1 p.m. Saturday (April 12th) at Smith & Sons Funeral Home, Columbia City.  Burial is at the Union Twp. Cemetery.  Visitation is from 4 to 7 p.m., Friday at the funeral home.

Memorials in Tom's honor are to Indiana Tech – Stockamp Scholarship Fund, CHI Alpha Campus Ministries, or the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.