Final Salute

Vickerson, Thomas J. Sr. COLONIE Thomas “Tom” J. Vickerson Sr., 84, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 23, 2022. He was born in Winthrop, Mass. to James and Dorothy Vickerson. He was the third of four siblings: his late brother, Jerrol Vickerson, his late sister, Martha Hennigar and his surviving sister, Ann Thornell. Tom graduated from Winthrop High School in 1955. He then went to the Coast Guard Academy, Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, then joined the U.S. Navy Seabees. Tom’s first duty assignment as a Seabee was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba during the early 1960s. Tom would go on to remain in the Navy reserves and eventually retire as a master chief constructionman. Tom was very proud of his time as a Seabee and had plenty of stories to tell about the Castro takeover of Cuba in those days. As a civilian, Tom was an engineering technician for several local consultants and then became a construction inspector for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where he retired in 2000. Tom is survived by his loving and adoring wife, Mary Faith Vickerson, whom he married on September 19, 1992. Tom was deeply loved by his four surviving children: Thomas Jr. (Amanda) of Ballston Lake, Timothy (Lisa) of Brunswick, Eric (Karen) and Deborah Harris (Tony), both of Niskayuna. Tom was also loved dearly by his three surviving stepchildren: Patrick Concannon (Carolyn) of Buffalo, Erin Concannon- Fink (John) of Oil City, Pa. and Kelly Concannon-Jarvi of Syracuse. Tom was very close to his Colonie neighbors as well. Tom has 15 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren who he adored and loved to spend time with. Tom has many nieces, nephews and cousins in Winthrop, Mass., throughout southern Maine and as far away as Wyoming. Tom’s favorite place was Sebago Lake, Maine where he spent a lot of his childhood during the summer and where he and his family built a summer camp during the mid-1970s. He looked forward to his retirement days, spending summers there. He is one of those lucky few who lived the dream of retirement-on-the-lake. He loved when family and friends would come to visit there. “Happy Hour” on the deck was the time of day he absolutely cherished with family, neighbors and visitors. He loved carpentry and taught his kids everything he knew about construction. Tom was also a very good storyteller and shared his stories with everyone he met. He also had a passion for model trains and anything nautical. Calling hours for Tom will take place at Cannon Funeral Home, 2020 Central Ave., Colonie, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, with a prayer service to be held at 12 p.m. He will be interred with full military honors in the Saratoga National Cemetery immediately afterward. In keeping with the cemetery floral restrictions, please consider memorial contributions in Tom’s memory to the Ronald McDonald House 139 S. Lake Ave., Albany, NY, 12208 or the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS, 66675- 8516. To leave a message of condolence for the family or to view Tom’s custom video tribute, visit www.CannonFuneral.com