By Deseret News
Feb 17, 2000, 12:00am MST
AMERICAN FORK -- Thomas Bahoravitch III was the "fixer" in the family and often served as the unsung hero mechanic wherever he lived, said friends and family at his funeral Wednesday. Bahoravitch, 40, died Friday in a police helicopter accident in a field near Skypark Airport in south Davis County -- an accident that also killed Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Tom Rettberg. Bahoravitch was remembered by his sister Kathy Ann Bahoravitch Cobb and brother Tim Bahoravitch as the one who repaired the toys they would break and would now be "fixing things for us in heaven." Cobb said her brother always reached out to people, loved to sing and play his guitar and brightened the days for those around him with his laughter. Tim Bahoravitch said his brother had more passion than talent at singing. "You know what I mean by that," he said to the crowd, which included some Highway Patrol troopers, at an American Fork chapel. Tim Bahoravitch described Tom Bahoravitch as the classic good Samaritan. He often took his nephews snowmobiling, hiking and dirt biking, he said.
"We were blessed over the past 10 years to have him so close." He said his older brother started life as a chronic asthmatic, spending much of his early years in hospitals and prompting the family's move from Detroit, Mich., to the western United States. He played on the high school football team's "hamburger squad," basically serving as a blocking dummy for the varsity players. "He never quit. He never gave up. We should do the same," Tim Bahoravitch said. He said his brother fell in love with helicopters after 1990 and prided himself on his talent as a skilled mechanic. God must really need a great mechanic," he added. "He was a very generous individual," said his friend, Kerry Vest. "A real people person." Vest said Bahoravitch was one of those rare friends who was always willing to go the extra mile for someone in need.
OBITUARY
Deseret News, Feb 14, 2000
Thomas Bahoravitch III, beloved son of Thomas Jr. and Joy Bahoravtich, age 40, of Riverdale, Utah, passed away Friday, February 11, 2000. Tom tragically died in a routine maintenance helicopter flight in Woods Cross, Utah. He was born March 5, 1959, in Pontiac, Michigan, to Thomas Bahoravitch Jr. and Joy Marie Weber Bahoravitch. Tom grew up in several western states and graduated from Kirtland High School in Kirtland, New Mexico in 1977. Tom was an active member of the LDS Church and served a mission to the San Antonio Texas Mission. He loved his work as a helicopter mechanic and died doing what he enjoyed most. He is survived by his mother, Joy Marie; sister, Kathy Ann Cobb, Rowlett, TX; brother, Timothy "Bo" Bahoravitch (Tori), American Fork; grandmother, Katherine Mergenthaler, Lake City, MI; and four nephews, Nathan, Dirk, Drew, Tyler. Services will be held 11 a.m., Wed., Feb. 16, 2000, in the American Fork 21st Ward Chapel, 270 No. 900 East, American Fork. Friends may call Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Olpin Family Mortuary, 494 South 300 East, Pleasant Grove, and at the church on Wednesday one hour prior to services. Interment will be in the American Fork City Cemetery.
