Thomas Nighswonger

October 23, 1934 - May 23, 2018

Funeral services for THOMAS D. NIGHSWONGER, 83, will be held at 11am Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at the First Congregational Church with Reverend Matt Gordon officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Tom died May 23, 2018 at Goshen Healthcare Community Alzheimer Unit. In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the First Congregational Church or the Goshen Healthcare Community Alzheimer Unit. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Arrangements are by the Colyer Funeral Home and condolences may be sent to www.colyerfuneralhome.com. Tom was born October 23, 1934 in Kimball, Nebraska the son of Harvey and Ada (Rathman) Nighswonger. He started school at the age of four at the Gabrock School often riding his tricycle to school. He later graduated LaGrange High School in 1951. He worked the wheat harvest for a couple of years. He met Shirley Brockel at a street dance and they were later married on September 19, 1954 in Torrington, Wyoming. They moved to Torrington where he worked at Valley Mercantile for a time before he attended one year at Chadron State College and then went to work at the University of Nebraska experiment farm. They moved to a farm on Sheep Creek. They later bought it and farmed there until 2005 when they moved into Torrington. Tom enjoyed playing cards, polka dancing, baseball, farming and model trains. He was especially proud of and enjoyed spending time with his family, mainly his grandchildren. Tom is survived by his wife Shirley of Torrington, Wyoming; sons Ron (Becky) Nighswonger, Terry (Diane) Nighswonger and Steve (Julie) Nighswonger all of Torrington; a daughter Cindy (Mort) Tillman of Wheatland, Wyoming; a sister Donna Hadley of Cheyenne, Wyoming; brothers Larry Nighswonger of Torrington and Leonard Nighswonger of Loveland, Colorado; ten grandchildren; and sixteen great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.