Thomas Eugene Burlingame

Thomas Eugene Burlingame, Tom, 78, passed away peacefully on August 22, 2023, after a brief stay in hospice care. He was born January 22, 1945, in Clinton, IA to Doris and Richard Burlingame. Clinton was the backdrop to an amazing childhood filled with many treasured memories and Tom never let an opportunity pass to bend the ear with his wild stories and childhood adventures to all who would listen. His family moved a lot, living in many states including Iowa, Alaska, and California, however Clinton was always considered his “hometown”.
After moving to California during his senior year of High School, Tom met the love of his life, Joyce Burleson, who had as if by fate, also been uprooted from Texas to California in her late high school years. Joyce and Tom were married in Fort Walton Beach, Florida in 1966 while Tom was in the Air Force. Tom had many a story to tell of his time as a Psych Corpsman.
Tom received his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law at which he made many lifelong friends. Tom was a contributing editor to the Iowa Law Review, coauthoring the report for the Contemporary Studies Project during the 1973/1974 school year and served on the Board of Editors as a Note and Comment Editor during the 1974/1975 school year. The majority of his legal career was spent with FBL Financial Group, retiring in 2002.
Retiring young left ample time for Tom’s most favorite past time, golf. He was fortunate to have played on many of the most beautiful courses across the world. However, he did state in his final days that one of his regrets was never getting a hole in one.
Tom’s love of music was evident his entire life, and fortunately that love was inherited by his children and grandchildren. He sang in many choirs, including the choir at his Retirement Community in recent years. He also was a part of a small band as a young man called the “Cellar Dwellers” and again, entertained his family and friends with his tales.
An avid Hawkeye sports fan and a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan (until recent years), Tom was thrilled to have lived to see the Cubbies win the World Series in 2016, ending their 108 year drought. However, that same year brought a presidential win that he could have lived without seeing.
In recent years, Tom and Joyce resided at Edgewater Retirement Community. Tom made many friends and acquaintances, as always, and enjoyed his regular Trivia Nights and Poker Games.
Tom is survived by his wife Joyce Burlingame, son Jason (Teri) Burlingame, daughter Kristen Giudicessi, and six loving grandkids, Isabella, Noah, Sophia, Ben, Emily, and Cameron. He was known to brag about all of his family, and he was so proud of all of their accomplishments.
He was preceded in death by his father Richard Burlingame, mother Doris Burlingame, and brother Richard Burlingame II.
Tom was thoughtful, and generous. His sense of humor was second to none, and he kept it right up to the final days. He was the best at Christmas and birthday gifts and was an avid donor to many a charity throughout the years. He will be greatly missed. Please leave a story or two for his daughter to create a memory book for the family.
Memorial contributions may be directed to JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in his honor. A private family burial will be held at Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

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