Thomas James Barrett

1995-2023

Thomas James Barrett was born in Riverside, California, to parents Anna Sneiderwine Barrett Richter and Stephen William Barrett on Aug. 2, 1995. Soon he was joined by a brother, Timothy Andrew (Andy), and half-brother and -sister, Mark and Grace Richter. Thomas relocated to Salem, Ohio, with his father and brother to live closer to family where he stayed until he relocated to Houston, Texas, to be near his mother, her husband, Mark, and their family. He then relocated to Zephyrhills, Florida, where he was living when he died at the age of 27 on April 4, 2023 in a tragic skydiving accident.

Thomas was always someone who was all in on whatever interested him. He enlisted in the Army National Guard where he completed the rigorous training required, and ultimately graduated from boot camp training at Fort Benning, Georgia, served four years in the Guard and was granted an Honorable Discharge as a Veteran. In addition to skydiving, Thomas loved playing guitar, video games and his pets Athena, Cyrus and Odin. Thomas was also a huge computer nut, and used that energy to enroll at Kent State University in Computer Sciences, and was just two hours away from garnering his degree. His perseverance was evident in any activity in which he participated. At the time of his death, he was working with computers for Fenetech and Mapsys.

His real passion, however, was skydiving. Thomas got his start in Canton, Ohio, where he was fortunate to be able to train with champion jumpers. He also spent time in Houston, jumping as often as time and finances would allow. At the time of his death he spent much of his free time at Skydive City in Zephyrhills, Florida. By this time he was an accomplished skydiver with over 1,300 jumps and had trained with world champion jumpers in Florida as well as Houston. Thomas died doing what he loved, and those who knew him will surely miss his exuberance.

In addition to his parents and siblings, Thomas is survived by grandparents, many uncles, aunts, cousins, and other extended family. A gathering of family and friends to celebrate Thomas’ life is planned for Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 1 p.m. at the Community Center in Salem, Ohio, 1098 N. Ellsworth Ave. Burial will be private at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations would be greatly appreciated in Thomas’ name to Wounded Warriors.

4/12/23