Thomas R Elder

Thomas Rudolph Elder, 88, an Army veteran who survived the sinking of the troop ship Empire Javelin during World War II and later served in the Korean War, died Nov. 30 in El Paso. He retired from the Army at Fort Bliss as a master sergeant after serving his country for more than 26 years. Born in Rhodelia, Kentucky, he was the ninth of ten children of Thomas Peter and Thecla Elder. He and his siblings worked on the family farm, raising hogs and cattle and growing wheat, tobacco, corn and sugar cane. Tom entered the military in 1943 and was initially trained as an amphibious boat operator. In December of 1944, on his way to France, he was aboard the Empire Javelin when it was struck by a torpedo from a German U-boat in the English Channel. He and many of his shipmates were rescued by a French frigate. He went on to serve in Holland, Belgium, Austria, France and Germany. Tom decided to make the military a career and attended Cooks and Bakers school. During the Korean War, Tom was assigned to a transportation unit as a cook. In 1958, he was selected by the 7th Army to cook for military and civilian dignitaries at the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium. He ended his Army career as a food service supervisor. After retiring from the military, Tom worked as a real estate salesman for Kirkley Real Estate and later became a broker, operating Your Neighborhood Realty. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Veterans of Foreign Wars. Tom’s passions in life included his family, his Roman Catholic faith and the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. He often told his children: “The Army was the best thing that ever happened to me. I would never have met your mother had Uncle Sam not called on me.” Tom and Anna Juhasz, his loving wife of 64 years, met in Austria during World War II. Anna, a nurse, had fled her native Hungary after the country was invaded by the Russian army. In addition to Anna, survivors include sons Rudy (Mary Ann) of Cape Coral, Florida, Tom of El Paso, Jim (Geraldine) of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Greg (Ann) of Colorado Springs, Colorado; daughter Debbie Pacillas of El Paso; sisters Rose Baer and Bess Hall of Louisville, Kentucky; sister-in-law Daisy Elder of Lyndon, Kentucky; and brother-in-law Harold Dodson of Louisville; and many grandchildren and great grandchildren Visitation is Wednesday, December 5, 2012 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Sunset Funeral Home Northeast, 4631 Hondo Pass, with a Rosary at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be held at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, December 6, 2012, at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 10000 Pheasant Road. Interment will follow at Fort Bliss National Cemetery with Full Military Honors. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, D.C. The family would like to thank the memory unit staff of the Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home who provided exceptional care to Tom during the final four years of his life. Services entrusted to Sunset Funeral Home Northeast. Please visit on-line register book at www.sunsetfuneralhomes.net