G. Thomas Caudill of Monongahela and formerly of West Newton, went to join our Lord Jesus Christ at his home on Oct. 25, 2021. Tom was born in West Newton, 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 used the G.I. Bill to attend Fairmont State College, earning a bachelor’s degree in education. He later attended 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 PE teacher, science teacher, baseball and basketball coach, athletic director, principal and an assistant superintendent. He was Ringgold’s first head baseball coach and 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 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 Aug. 26, 2018. He is also survived by 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 and Barbara (Andrew) Bergman. Friends will be received at MARSHALL MARRA FUNERAL HOME, 216 Chess St., Monongahela, 724-258-6767, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday at 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 W. Main St., Monongahela, PA 15063.
