Thomas Jennings Hawk, M.D., 87, of Catawba Island, and formerly Upper Arlington, passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 1, at the Riverview Healthcare Campus in Oak Harbor, where he lived recently. Tom was born on Jan. 13, 1936, in Painesville, to Hubert and Eldred (Jennings) Hawk. He graduated from Mentor High School, where he was later honored as one of their Outstanding Graduates. Tom earned his B.S. degree from Bethany College in Bethany, W.V., where he graduated magna cum laude in 3 years, and where he was a member and President of Beta Theta Pi. He then went on to earn his M.D. at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, then served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corp for 2 years. Once he returned from his service to his country, he served his neurosurgical residency at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Tom practiced neurosurgery in Columbus for 40 years, primarily at Riverside Hospital and as a member of the staff at The Ohio State University Hospital, who honored him with the Outstanding Teacher in Neurosurgery recognition. He absolutely loved neurosurgery and will always be remembered for his incredibly compassionate and caring bedside manner. Tom always told his patients that they were his family.

His first wife, Barbara (Lanphear) Hawk, who he had five children with, preceded him in death in 2014. He married Joanne Kuenning in 1973, and she survives. Tom’s most important things in life, which he always worked to instill in his children, were God, family, education, respect and hard work. He was very inquisitive and always encouraged his children to get to know a little bit about everything. He had a love for sailing, he served as the Fleet Surgeon and Commodore of the Catawba Island Club. Tom also had a love for gardening after his retirement, even knowing all the Latin names for the plants, and he always said he found God in the garden. He was a world traveler, enjoyed coin collecting, playing tennis, and he loved listening to classical music, which he often played during surgeries. He also served on the board for the Ballet Met.

Tom is going to be missed dearly as a wonderful person, husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. His smile and amazing sense of humor will always be remembered. In addition to his loving wife of 50 years, Jodi Hawk, he is survived by his children, David, Tom Jr. (Patti), Bill (Lisa), Amy Hawk (Paul Johnson), and Peter, 7 grandchildren, Hayley (Shane) Hardy, Jordan, Brandon (Jessica), Jasmine, Luke, Nicholas, and Robbie, 2 great grandchildren, Jesse and Benjamin, sisters, Sara Kinley and Sherrie Trenka, and sister-in-law, Judy Hawk. He was preceded in death by his parents, first wife, Barbara Hawk, and brother, Hubert “Pete” Hawk, M.D.

A Celebration of Life for Tom will be conducted 4 p.m., Monday, July 24, at the Schoedinger Northwest Funeral Home, 1740 Zollinger Rd., Columbus, with a 5-7 p.m. reception immediately following. Memorial contributions in memory of Tom may be given to Bethany College, Office of Institutional Advancement, 31 E. Campus Dr., Bethany, WV 26032 www.bethanywv.edu. Gerner-Wolf-Walker Funeral Home & Crematory, 216 Washington St., Port Clinton, is entrusted with the direct care for Tom’s cremation and assisting Tom’s family. Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.walkerfuneralhomes.com.