December 11, 2024 – Baraboo (formerly of West Bend, WI) – Tom was born on November 28, 1953, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Adrian and Patricia (Bernard) Poker.
The family then moved to Cedarburg where Tom grew up and graduated from Cedarburg High School in 1972. He then went on to attend college at the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate in 1976.
After graduation, Tom returned to the Cedarburg area and began teaching in the Slinger School District, where he dedicated the next 30-plus years to teaching elementary school (K-5) and volunteering for the Slinger Education Association until retirement. To Tom, teaching was not a career, it was his passion and calling.
Tom had several sanctuaries in life; spending time with his sons in the outdoors both hunting and fishing, spending his summers cutting weeds on Big Cedar Lake, long summer vacations on the Chippewa Flowage with family and friends, but most of all, it was in the classroom with his students, his 2nd family.
Tom is survived by his sons: Paul (Heather) of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and Peter of Denver, Colorado; grandchildren: Tyler, Peyton, and Taytum; Brother: David Poker of Milwaukee; Sister: Susan Poker of Garland, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents.
The family would like to thank the staff at Meadow View Memory Care and Agrace Hospice for the respectful and kind long-term care Tom received prior to his passing.
