Thomas P. McCollough

There's a new guardian and servant in Heaven's ranks. Thomas P. McCullough passed away peacefully on April 26th, 2026 surrounded by family at the age of 81. Tom's life was underpinned by service, love and perseverance. Like many young men of his generation, Tom's professional life started with military service in the United States Air Force. He served as a Radio Intercept Analysis Specialist from 1963 to 1967. In the midst of his time in the military he was lucky enough to woo and marry the love of his life Bette Lynne Watson who was literally "the girl next door." They made a life together and enjoyed a loving marriage for 44 years. Following his military service, Tom continued to develop his analytical and technical skills as practitioner and Professor of Computer Science at Junior Colleges in Upstate New York and Florida. Tom's mastery of the socratic method prepared countless students for rewarding careers across what is now known as the information technology industry. In the waning years of his working life Tom joined his wife in service to their community providing logistical support to local charities in the Tampa Bay area. Following the unexpected loss of Bette in 2010, Tom took on a new level of volunteer service with the USO in the Tampa area providing countless hours of service to military members and their families at the Tampa Airport. He also reconnected with a good-natured and servant-hearted community of veterans that he visited and corresponded with for more than a decade. They may have drank a beer or two as well. When ill health limited his mobility, Tom moved to the Florida panhandle community of Navarre to be near family. He spent the last three years of his life residing at the Navarre Gardens Assisted Living Facility. He continued to use the skills garnered from decades in the classroom to learn and remember the names of his neighbors. He made a habit of greeting each person by name every day. Tom was preceded in death by his loving wife Bette Lynne (Watson, d. 2010) McCullough and infant son Timothy (d. 1975) McCullough. Tom was the loving father of Patrick (Amy) and Kevin (Laura) McCullough. He was a doting Grandfather to Ian (Nye) McCullough and Kaleigh (Tanner) Smith. He was immensely proud of his kids and grandkids. Tom was the son of the late Thomas (d. 1957) McCullough and Winnifred (d. 2002) Jarczyk. He is survived by his brother James "Huey" (Janis) McCullough. Graveside services will be held at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at 10 am on Tuesday, May 5th 2026. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the USO of Florida. Those wishing to do so online can follow this link: https://florida.uso.org/tampa and click the donate link at the top of the page. Plans to live stream the service are underway and a link will be published when it becomes available.

Thomas P. McCollough

June 27, 1944 - April 26, 2026