Thomas Colwell

Thomas Edwin Colwell, age 74, of Morton, passed away on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, after a four-year battle with lung cancer. He died at home, surrounded by his loving family. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, July 12, 2024, at St. Catherine's Catholic Church in Redwood Falls with a private family burial in the Minnesota State Veteran's Cemetery in Redwood Falls, Minnesota. Visitation will be held one hour prior to his service, from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. also at the church.

Arrangements are with Nelson-Hillestad Funeral and Cremation Service of Redwood Falls. E-mail condolences may be sent via www.nelson-hillestad.com.

In lieu of flowers, Tom and his family request donations in his memory to CentraCare Hospice in Redwood Falls or another charity that aligns with Tom's beliefs.

Tom was born on February 13, 1950 to John and Genevieve (Hogan) Colwell in Hutchinson, Minn. The Colwell family called Morton, Minn, home for the majority of Tom's youth. After graduating from Morton High School in 1968, Tom studied at the University of Minnesota, Morris before joining the military in 1969. After being honorably discharged, Tom returned to Morton to further his education. It was there, in 1972, that he met the love of his life, Mary Margaret Rose, who had begun teaching at Morton High and had moved into the house across the alley from the Colwell family.

Tom and Mary married in 1974 at St. John's Catholic Church in Morton. When Tom completed meat-cutter's training, the couple moved to Breckenridge, Minn., where their first child, Connie, was born in 1976. In 1977, Tom and Mary moved to St. Paul and then Cottage Grove, where they settled and had three more children, Eric (1978), John (1979), and Katy (1981). Tom cut meat for Country Club Markets and then Westlund's until 2000.

In 2001, Tom and Mary moved back to the Morton area, where they built a home on Colwell family land, as Tom had always dreamed of doing. He enjoyed drinking black coffee, eating M&Ms (his Vitamin M), and feeding birds on his deck. Tom's greatest loves were his wife and family (especially his 9 grandkids and 3 bonus grandkids), horses, bird-watching, and astronomy. He loved deep conversations, going on adventures on the family farm to Cavanaugh Pass, Koerner Corner, and Miller Mountain with his grandchildren, and the music of Bob Dylan and Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was known by all who knew him as a kind-hearted and deeply spiritual man, and he spent decades in service of others. His family will remember him as a constant source of good nature and bad jokes, and he kept both his positivity and his humor until the very end of his fight against disease.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents John and Genevieve Colwell, sisters Mary Teed, Betty Lauffenburger, and Peggy Colwell, and niece Joanna Teed. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mary; children Connie (Jake) Odenthal, Eric Colwell, John (Jessica) Colwell, and Katy (Brandon) Koerner; grandchildren Aidan, Miles, Kane, Elliott, Elise, Connor, Ellarie, Irene, Mary, Quinn, Anna, and Margaret; and siblings Joe Colwell, Jeanne Colwell, Julie Bentson, Kate Colwell, Alice (Rick) O'Donnell, Ed (Carrie) Colwell, and Carl (Angie) Colwell; and many nieces and nephews.

Blessed be his memory.