Thomas Edward Palicki

Thomas Edward Palicki, 71 passed away on July 16th, 2026 in Springfield, MO. He was preceded in death by his parents, Valerian and Marian Palicki, his brothers, Valerian and John Palicki, nephew John T. Palicki, niece Jessica Orribile, son in law Bryan Koetje, father in law Paul Shaffer, brother in law Mike Busse, and lifetime friends Larry Rybczyk and Hank Partyka who were considered family.

Tom was born in Chicago, IL and grew up on the south side of the city. He was the youngest of four siblings and raised by his father, Valerian Palicki, who he really looked up to as someone who could accomplish anything he set his mind to. He always said he wished he was made of the same stuff his dad was made of, because they just didn’t make them like that anymore.

He attended Chicago Vocational School, which he loved to tell stories about, his favorite being that the legendary Dick Butkus also went to school there. As a die-hard Chicago Bears fan who lived to watch them play, that was a big deal. After school, he was proud to have worked for the railroad for 9 years, before becoming an ASE certified master mechanic. He spent his younger days attending so many concerts with his friends that he claimed to have seen more bands than the ones he didn’t see. His absolute favorite to see live was Eric Clapton, and later even had a son named after him.

On Dec. 23rd 1988, he married Pam Shaffer, although after some pre wedding celebrations with friends the night before, they overslept and were almost late to their own wedding. He had fond memories of that day and loved to tell the story of how his ring had to be put on his pinky during the ceremony because he assumed his ring size had not changed since high school. It had. After becoming a husband, he also became a dad in 1989, when his oldest daughter Amanda was born. Shortly after, that was followed by Adam in 1990, Eric in 1991 and Paula in 1994. In 1992, he relocated from Chicago to Springfield, MO to help care for his father, and also because he had visited the Ozarks on fishing trips and thought it was beautiful and a great place to raise his kids.

As a dad, he had that old school tough love mentality. His solutions were often to walk it off, just put a band-aid on it, or get over it. But in addition to making sure he was raising some tough, thick-skinned kids, he taught them to have a love of nature and to get out and do things and have fun. There was always a fishing trip, float trip, a day at the lake playing 16 inch softball or horseshoes, a BBQ or fish fry, all of which always included as many friends and family as you could stand. Many times, he said he had no idea what he was doing as a dad, which was definitely true considering he was prone to losing track of one of the four kids on a regular basis. But he also said that he thought he must not have done half bad, because he was proud of every one of them and that as long as he got that part of life right, he succeeded.

In more recent years, he became a grandpa to a total of seven grandkids. When the news was broken to him that he would be a grandpa soon, he quite sarcastically said “that’s wonderful children” to the parents to be. No one knew what he really meant hiding behind that sarcasm. But despite how tough he could be, and how grumpy he could be, it was clear he had a big soft spot for every one of those grandkids. He may not have been afraid to tell them no, or tell them when they were misbehaving, but he would never dare pass up a hug or a chance to tell them he loved them.

He will be remembered for so many things:

His jokes, though sometimes inappropriate or ill-timed, and sometimes just a silly dad joke he repeated more times than could be counted, they were always hilarious. His “Hulk Hogan” mustache, which no one ever saw him without. That Polish stubbornness that was a Palicki family trait. How he always helped everyone with their car troubles. All his BBQing, which may sometimes have included a 20-pound turkey, because who doesn’t bring a turkey to grill at a campground just to see if it can be done? How he was never afraid to speak his mind, whether it offended someone or not. How he could hold a conversation for hours and was such an entertaining storyteller. How he would do anything to help a friend or his family. His lifelong friendships, especially with his brother John, and his best friends Larry Rybcyzk and Hank Partyka. The impact he made on those who knew him, who are all surely feeling that impact right now.

He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Pam Palicki. His sister Sharon Clutterham. His kids Amanda Koetje, Adam Palicki and wife Crystal, Eric Palicki and wife Tija, and Paula Sharp. Mother in law Darlene Shaffer. His sisters in law, Erin Palicki, Paula Shaffer, Patty Grande and Peggy Proulx. His grandkids, Emma, Madison, Olivia, Rowan, Julian, Amelia and Perrie. As well as many nieces, nephews and beloved friends.

He said it many times about many things, like cars, houses, tools, his own father, but now we can all say the same thing about him,

“They just don’t make them like that anymore.”

Celebration of Life will be held at Schultz and Dooley’s Pub on Aug. 16th from 3 to 5 pm