Thomas Schussler

MISSOULA - Thomas Arnold Schussler died peacefully of unnatural causes on Monday, November 17, 2025, at his home, surrounded by his family. In reality, he was killed in Vietnam; he just didn't realize it at the time.

Tom was born on March 14, 1950, in Minot, North Dakota, to Doris and Arnold Schussler. He attended Minot Senior High, where he played football and wrestled. After graduating, he attended the Wahpeton State School of Science, where he studied architectural drafting.

In 1969, he enlisted in the United States Navy, where he served for 24 years, including multiple tours of duty in Vietnam. His duty assignments included the USS Sterett DLG31, USS Reasoner FF1063, USS Peleliu LHA5, Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, Naval Communications Station San Diego, California, Ships Intermediate Maintenance Activity Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Naval Special Warfare Group One Mobile Communications Team

Coronado, California, and Military Sealift Command Office, Anchorage, Alaska. He received several awards and decorations for his service and retired from the United States Navy Reserve at the rank of Chief Petty Officer in 1995.

After leaving the Navy, Tom attended the University of Montana School of Business in Missoula. His civilian occupations included a ten-year stint as Chief of Security at Southgate Mall and 24 years as a Director at St. Patrick Hospital, where he retired in 2011.

He served on the Board of Directors of Five Valleys Crime Stoppers, was a member of the Public Health Department's Health Emergency Advisory Team and the Missoula County Emergency Planning Committee, was a graduate of Leadership Missoula (Class 10), and volunteered his time at Loyola Sacred Heart High School while his children attended school there.

Tom was a member of the AHA (American Hospital Association) Society of Risk Managers, AHA Society of Safety Managers, International Association for Healthcare Safety and Security, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Tom wrote and published two books, including a memoir recounting his service aboard a Navy destroyer during the Vietnam War, and a tongue-in-cheek tutorial for senior golfers, and was engaged in writing a third at the time of his death.

Later in life, Tom became an avid golfer and a regular fixture at Linda Vista Golf Course, where he and his cronies whiled away the dog days of summer. He has recorded 5 holes in one and eagled three-par fours while engaged in his favorite pastime.

Tom married his soulmate, Kelly (Myhre) Schussler, in 1972 while still serving on active duty in the USN. Their union produced three children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He doted on his family and spent much of his free time camping, hunting, and fishing with them in the forests of Western Montana. He often said, “The proof of a man's success lies in whether or not his children are able to achieve a better life than he had,” and he took great pride in his children and the fact that they all were able to do so.

Tom was preceded in death by his mother, Doris; father, Arnold; brother, David; sister, Beverly; brother, Robert; and grandson, Jacob Thomas Crass. He is survived by his sisters Barbara (Jim) Adams and Joan Zeiber, brother James, wife Kelly, daughters Krista (Guy) Kempthorne and Heidi Schussler, son Joseph (Sarah), grandchildren Ashley (Cody) Garrymore, Sydney (Clayton) Durheim, Garrison Kaneff, Jezalyn Schussler, Jadyn Schussler, Brett Kempthorne, Jacob Kaneff, and great-grandchildren Hayden, Liam, and Maverick Garrymore.

Duty, Honor, Country, and Family were the guiding forces in his life, and he always tried to do the very best that he could at whatever task he undertook. Although not a particularly religious man, he was a spiritual being, and his beliefs were demonstrated by the fact that he treated all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their station in life. He was known for his biting sense of humor and practical jokes. In recent years, he was very saddened by the lack of civility that had permeated American politics and, as a result, society in general, and longed for the days when people could disagree without hating one another.

There will be a private family memorial service followed by a public interment ceremony with military honors at the Western Montana Veterans Cemetery. Memorials may be sent to the Metachromatic Leukodystrophy Foundation or the Veterans for Peace Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, or, if you prefer, you can simply vote for a republican in his memory!

https://mld.foundation/donations/

http://www.vn-agentorange.org/donate.html