Oct 27, 2021

G. Thomas Caudill, of Monongahela, formerly of West Newton, went to join his Lord Jesus Christ, in his home, Monday, October 25, 2021. Tom was born in West Newton, a son of Andrew Preston and Catherine Ann Davis Caudill.

Tom was a 1953 graduate of West Newton High School. He joined the Marine Corps shortly after high school and was part of Platoon 143, with whom he would serve in Korea. Tom was discharged in 1956 and would use the G.I. Bill to attend Fairmont State College earning a Bachelor’s degree in Education. He would later go on to attend West Virginia University earning a Master’s degree in School Administration.

Tom began his career as a teacher and a coach in West Newton, but came to Ringgold in 1965, where he would remain until his retirement in 1994. In the course of his career, Tom was a physical education teacher, science teacher, baseball and basketball coach, athletic director, principal, and an assistant superintendent. He was Ringgold’s first head baseball coach, and would eventually become the first principal of the unified Ringgold High School in 1980. Tom touched the lives of many Ringgold and West Newton graduates in the course of his 36-year career in public education.

After his retirement, Tom was active with the American Legion serving as a member of the Honor Guard. He was also a member of the Regional Transit Authority and an elected councilman for the City of Monongahela, where he proudly served for nine years. Additionally, he was a member of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish (Transfiguration Church) serving on its council for many years, and also the Donora and Monongahela Elks Clubs.

Tom worked hard, but always managed to reserve time for his family. He coached little league and delighted in taking his family to Steelers or Pirates games, and he loved Myrtle Beach. His family and his faith were most important to him and Tom was a man whose life was one of service. He was a patient, kind, disciplined, but compassionate and a generous man whose example was felt by many. He will be mourned and missed, but our burden is eased by our Christian faith that Tom has moved on to a better place.

Tom was a devoted husband and father and in 1963 he married Judith Ann Chiari and fathered two children, Theodore Andrew (Annie) Caudill and Tim Caudill, who passed away August 26, 2018; his grandchildren, Julia Catherine Caudill, Hunter Thomas Caudill and Jonathan Robert Caudill.

In addition to his parents and his son, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Andrew (Mary Lou) Caudill, Beulah (Bill) Marsh, Gladys (Orion) Kite, Eythe (Dallas) Kite, Catherine (Joe) Martino, Barbara (Andrew) Bergman.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, October 28, in the Marshall Marra Funeral Home, 216 Chess St. Monongahela, 724-258-6767. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday, October 29, in St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Monongahela. Interment will follow in West Newton Cemetery, with military honors conducted by the Mon-Valley Honor Guard and Firing Squad and the U.S. Marine Corps funeral detail.

Memorial donations can be made to Monongahela Area Library, 813 West Main Street, Monongahela, PA 15063.