Thomas J. Grabiek, a Rumney resident since 2000, passed peacefully into the Lord's hands at home on Friday, July 12, 2019, with his wife and kitty by his side. He is predeceased by his parents, John and Helen (Boricheski) Grabiec, and his twin brother Paul. He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years, Kathy and kitty Spencer, his sister-in-law, Carol (Randall) Berning of Naples, Florida, one nephew Matthew Berning of Washington DC, and many cousins, Thomas Zajac of MA and Josh Makowski of RI being two of his closest cousins, both fishing buddies. Tom was born in May, 1948 and raised in South River, NJ and attended Rutgers University. His professional life began in publishing with the Boy Scouts of America's Boys Life Magazine followed by McGraw-Hill in NJ. In the late 1970's Tom and Kathy relocated to Colorado where he pursued his sportsman passion through business as a regional rep covering seven Western states for several Sporting Goods brands. In the 1980's Tom moved to the insurance industry and began with New York Life where his customer service skills were a perfect match. He then opened his own Employee Benefits agency in Colorado with much success. In 2000 Tom and Kathy relocated to Rumney, NH drawn by his love and fond childhood memories of the lakes, streams and mountains of NH. Shortly after moving to Rumney, Tom ran and was elected to the Town of Rumney Planning Board and served as President for seven years. Tom was well respected in that position and in the community for his desire to serve. He continued in insurance as an AFLAC rep, and then opened his own Allstate agency in the Lakes Region, followed by opening an Independent agency, Tom Grabiek Insurance Group. A sideline and labor of love was Tom's artwork; he began Fly Art Designs, featuring his fine drawings of intricate fishing flies in vivid color alongside his actual hand tied flies! He displayed and sold his works at local artists' co-ops Artistic Roots and Squam Lakes Artisans for a number of years. Tom's first passion was fishing from a young age; he and his dad went fishing whenever they could. Tom took up fly fishing on his own, he was a natural and when Kathy came into the picture he taught her and now she can hold her own among the best because of him. Tom was a natural at teaching and instructing, he helped so many friends with casing, reading the waters, matching the hatch and tying flies. He was amazing in all aspects of fishing and believed in the creed of Catch and Release. Tom was an involved lifelong member of Trout Unlimited Conservation Organization. With his perfection and love of fly fishing he was given an opportunity of a lifetime, to guide at a fly-out fishing lodge in Alaska for the summer in 1986. He jumped at the opportunity and was their premier fly fishing guide; everyone wanted Tom to guide them because he was so successful! Another passion was the need for speed! He owned several motorcycles over the years but if he had one it was considered the fastest at that time and rode them hard. His other love were his Corvette's, he owned five over the years, he took great pride in them and with anything he owned it was kept in pristine condition always! Tom was an adventurous outdoorsman and sportsman in every sense, he hunted in Colorado with friends, fished with Kathy and friends all over the Western states, Alaska, NH, NY; there was almost no stream, river or lake where they didn't wet their lines. Tom and Kathy did everything together. Skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, camping, boating, fishing of course – outdoor sports and nature were everything! Tom was a friend to all, always keeping in touch with friends, near and far, even his buddies from high school, he would check in with from time to time. Fishing and hunting buddies, they could chat for hours; all the time going over great memories, times together, Tom had a memory that didn't quit! After relocating from CO to NH he kept in touch with countless folks and the close ones were there until the end. Our NH neighbors and friends were important to Tom, he cherished their friendship, he was generous and caring; he would help whenever needed with repairs on equipment, snow blowing, firewood; you name it he was there to lend a hand. Another passion of Tom's was his love for all God's creatures. If they needed help he was there. Over the years he had rescued numerous dogs, cats, turtles, snakes, birds and most recently a little kitty that our vets at PAH repaired, rehabbed and now adopted to her forever home! Lastly, his love of his kitties, since Kathy and Tom weren't able to have children, their kitties were their babies and he cherished them and made sure they were loved, cuddled and protected. One favorite thing was Tom whistling the theme of the "Andy Griffith Show" and like the Pied Piper the kitties would follow Tom and Kathy around the meadow, it was adorable; at one point there were three following, Gus, Zoomer and Molly. What a dear loving kitty daddy Tom was. He will now be with his little kitty angels once again; Zero, Smokey, Gus, Zoomer, Molly and Rocky. Just one kitty, Spencer is left with Kathy to say Goodbye to his daddy. Tom's ready smile, contagious laugh, love of life and his passion for his many outdoor activities will be missed by many close friends and his beloved wife. Always in our hearts, with a smile on his face, sunshine on his shoulder, a fly rod in his hand and a kitty by his side, he would be a happy camper! Godspeed my Sweetheart! Love, Kathy. A Celebration of Life is planned for September 1st at our home in Rumney, from 12 - 3:00 p.m., for directions please call Kathy at 603/548-6807. Those wishing to make a donation in Tom's memory may do so to either our local Hospice at Pemi Baker Community Health,101 Boulder Point Dr., Suite 3, Plymouth, NH 03264, or to the NH Humane Society, 1305 Meredith Center Rd, Laconia, NH 03246. A memorial page for Tom is on Dupuis Funeral Home, Ashland, NH website Dupuisfuneralhome.com