Thomas Eugene Logan, 78, died February 8, 2010 at the Mat-Su Regional Hospital in Palmer with many family and friends by his bedside.

Tom was the oldest of four boys. He was born Aug. 18, 1931. His brothers all live in the Big Lake area and are John, Vernon and Darryl.

Tom was born in Wood River, Illinois. As an infant through Junior High his family farmed in the Illinois River valley near Spanky, Illinois. He attended High School at Mount Vernon, Illinois until going into the Army Air Force. He served during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He served with the Strategic Air Command for several years as a crew chief on KC-135 tankers.

Following his retirement in 1972 he moved to Alaska. In Alaska, Tom and his family lived in Cold Bay, Kodiak, Anchorage and Wasilla. While in Kodiak he served as a borough assemblyman. Tom worked for the state of Alaska, Airport Division for the Federal Aviation Administration and finished his career working for Reeve Aleutian Airways.

Tom was very active with the Elks first in Kodiak and then in Wasilla. He loved the many programs supporting the schools and spent many days and evenings participating. Tom was an enthusiastic sportsman — always looking forward to his moose hunt on the Denali Highway with his kids. He stayed active with the NRA, Friends of Moose, and sportsman clubs. He served for several years on the Big Lake Chamber of Commerce and attended many of the State Chamber meetings. Tom was given the Chamber Bob Grosse award. Tom was precinct chairman of the Republican Party and stayed very active with the precinct and State conventions.

Tom was always a genius with tools. There were very few things Tom couldn’t do, but people should have thought twice before getting in a canoe with him. He excelled at car or airplane maintenance work, but was equally comfortable with electronics, computers and woodwork. Tom began building and taking apart things as a child. As dirt farmers, Tom's family did not have enough money to be extravagant and his younger brothers remember Tom making toys for them out of scrap lumber and tin cans. His father recognized his skills with engines and by the time Tom was a teenager he was in charge of fixing the farm equipment, tractors and trucks.

Tom is survived by his wife of 55 years, Grace Logan; and three children, Patrick, Patricia and Susan. Pat and Tracy and their sons, Ben and Matt, all of Anchorage; Patty and Don Clausen and daughter, Leah and Dennis Addington of Wasilla; Sean and Elizabeth Clausen and their son, Kevin of Ventura County, CA, and Susan and Doug Miller of Kona, Hawaii and sons, Jon of Kenai and Dan of Everett, Wash.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom’s memory to the Elks Lodge for the Kids program, 2600 N. Barrys Resort Dr., Wasilla, AK 99654.

"MY DAD"
This world has many heroes,
you'd know most of them by name.
It's apparent that they gave their best,
and they deserve their name.

But among all of the heroes,
this world has ever had,
there's not one that I admire more,
than my precious dad.

He's more than just a hero,
he never looks for praise.
He's heroic in his quiet strength,
and in his caring ways.

He may not be as famous,
as those you hear about or see.
But he's everything and so much more,
a hero ought to be.

He keeps his word, it's good as gold,
on this you can depend.
He's honest and he's loyal too,
I'm proud that he's my friend.

When I hear about a hero,
and the special things they've done,
It reminds me of my father,
for he is the greatest one...

"The faults of our members we write upon the sand,
their virtues upon the tablets of love and memory"