Thomas W. Cate

Aug. 12, 1949-Aug. 11, 2022

Thomas Cate, 72, of Indianapolis passed away at his home Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, one day short of his 73rd birthday.

He was born in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, the oldest son of Colonel William F. Cate Jr. and Ilse Gryszka Cate, who both preceded him in death.

Thomas is survived by his daughter, Carolyn Cate Bentley, who lives in Oklahoma, and two grandchildren as well as one nephew. He is also survived by his brothers, Steven Cate of Farmersburg and Andrew Cate of Indianapolis, and his sister, Irene (Edward) Cate Selby of Crawfordsville.

He graduated high school in Heidelberg, Germany and attended Indiana University in Bloomington.

Thomas was employed at Fort Benjamin Harrison and later as a real estate appraiser in the Indianapolis area. One of his passions was world travel. He was fortunate to have been able to visit every continent except Antarctica. His travels found him crossing Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway, visiting the Taj Mahal in India and touring Australia, where he met the legendary Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, at Australia Zoo in Queensland. In Scotland, Thomas visited the Isle of Skye as well as Loch Ness and in South America, he visited the rain forests in Venezuela.

Thomas traveled extensively throughout Central and Western Europe in his youth and especially enjoyed the beaches on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.

His siblings will remember him as the beloved, older brother they could always count on.

A funeral mass with Rev. Michael Bower officiating will be celebrated at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Crawfordsville at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, with visitation preceding at 10 a.m. Interment at Calvary Cemetery will follow the funeral mass.