Thomas Tomasic, beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather and educator, died peacefully of old age on September 16 in Cincinnati, Ohio, family at his side. He was 99 years old.

Born Tomas Mirko Tomasić in 1927, he spent the first 11 years of his life in Hreljin, a hilly town on the Croatian coast. In 1938 he left with his mother, Olga, to join his father, Matt, in Chicago, traveling by train through Nazi Germany to Cherbourg France, where they boarded the Queen Mary to New York.

Tom attended Passer Elementary and Taft High School. He said he learned English at the movies, which he snuck into through theater backdoors whenever he could. He retained a Hollywood flair for storytelling his whole life, reveling in dramatic plot-turns, unambiguous endings and ethical lessons tied in ribbons.

He was drafted into the Army in 1944 as a high school sophomore, then joined the Air Force, trained as a pilot in Florida and served as a B25 crew chief. In 1948 he began attending college on the GI bill, enrolling in business courses at DePaul University, where he struggled. “Hadn’t found my vocation!” He then attended St. Vincent’s seminary college in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, before finding his vocation studying history and philosophy at DePaul and Northeastern Illinois universities. He taught at Loyola Academy and Marshall High before returning to Taft for the next 30 years. He felt proud to live a solid working-class life dedicated to public education. A teachers union rep, he hosted crowded strike parties in the tiny basement of his home.

In 1961 he married the love of his life, Mary Frances “Franny” Schroeder, a former Catholic nun. They had six children. Tom was a voluble family man, who delivered English in a low boom with a “Dracula” accent. He was also a tender-hearted softie, quick to forgive and incapable of holding grudges.

Tom was another great American immigrant: He was proud to be American, worked hard to provide for his family, exerted great influence on thousands of students, passed on his outsized personality to his children and expected all of them and their kids and their kids-kids to take large bites out of life.

He is survived by his sister, E. Ann Tomasic, and children — Paul (Jennifer Hausheer), Donna Leding, John, Nancy (Christopher) Marino, Therese Marie (Patrick) Ormond, Steven (Kate) — 16 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.

Lying-in-State on Saturday, September 26, 10 a.m., followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m., Immaculate Conception Church, 7211 W. Talcott Ave. Interment at Maryhill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities USA or to the National Immigration Law Center. For funeral info: 773-774-3232 www.kolbusmayfh.com.