Thomas E. "Tom" Kelker

Thomas E. "Tom" Kelker, age 61, of New Philadelphia, passed away Tuesday, December 20, 2016, in Community Hospice's Truman House after a long battle with kidney disease.

Born February 17, 1955, in Dover, he was a son of Catherine Ray Kelker of Dover and the late Eugene B. Kelker. Tom graduated from Dover High School in 1973, and was the 1972-1973 Drum Major for the Marching Tornadoes. He attended Ohio University and was employed by Northeast Ohio Natural Gas Corporation, Strasburg, for the past 15 years. He had also worked for Dover's Snyder Manufacturing. Tom loved the game of golf, he was an excellent cook and was always good-natured.

In addition to his mother, Catherine, he is survived by his loving wife, Ellen E. Moore Kelker, whom he married on September 5, 1998; his children, Jason (Alicia) Martinelli of Olympia, Washington, Rachel (Ed) Schurdell of Olmsted Falls, Megan (Jason) Glover of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, and Kara (Adam) White of Twinsburg; his grandchildren, Jacob and Dalton Schurdell, Riley and Addison Glover, Emiliano "Leo" and Madalena "Maddy" Martinelli; his siblings, Cheryl (Anthony) Davis of Marion, Jay (Cathy) Kelker of Wadsworth, Richard Kelker of Dover, and Laura Kelker of New Philadelphia; and his many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

A funeral service will be held Tuesday, December 27, at 11 a.m. in the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, with Pastor Mike McCartney of The Chapel in North Canton officiating. Immediately following the service, there will be a luncheon in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover. Family and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Monday, December 26, 4 7 p.m., and on Tuesday, 10 11 a.m. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Tom, please visit the Obituaries and Flowers link on the funeral home's website.

The family suggests that contributions in Tom's memory be made to Community Hospice, 716 Commercial Ave. S.W., New Philadelphia, Ohio 44663.