Thomas P. Compo, 64, of Kellogg died April 18, 2009, at Grinnell Regional Medical Center. A funeral mass will be held 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 22, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Grinnell with Rev. Nick Adam officiating. Organist will be Marilyn Kriegel. Honorary bearers will be Denny Conway, Michael Hotchkin, Dick Johnson, John Little, David Schmitz, and Dr. Vic Wilson. A Vigil service will be held 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell. Memorial contributions may be directed to St. Mary's Deacon Fund. Tom was born January 2, 1945, in Adams Center, New York, the son of Roy A. and Grace Stumpf Compo. He graduated from Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, New York. In 1963, he attended Florida State University and later the University of South Carolina. He received a BA degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1975, and a Masters in Business degree from Troy State University, Troy, Alabama in 1986. On July 10, 1966, he was married to Charlotte Boyett, at Turner Air Force Base, Georgia. Tom served 12 years in the United States Air Force as a weather forecaster and 8 years in the United States Navy, also as a weather forecaster. He served in Vietnam in 1968-1969 where he received the Bronze Star and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. His entrepreneurial talents came early when he began selling GRIT newspapers as a young boy; he also delivered the daily newspaper for the Miami Herald when in his teens. In between his Air Force and Navy careers, he worked as Special Projects Director for the AAA Cornhusker Motor Club in Omaha, where he taught motorcycle safety. He also taught motorcycle safety for the University of Illinois while stationed at Chanute AFB, Illinois. He served as an intern for the Omaha World Herald and worked as Sports Editor for the Bellevue, Nebraska Leader for four years. After retiring from the military in 1986, he started work for the Knights of Columbus and was promoted to General Agent of Southeastern Iowa. He later formed his own insurance agency for which he sold AFLAC, Western Catholic Union, and LifeUSA. Tom was co-founder and president of the Great Plaines Motorcycle Association; charter president of the Beta Sigma Phi journalism society at University of Nebraska-Omaha; served as president and later state vice-president of the Jaycees in Nebraska; and was Grand Knight in both Milton, Florida and Grinnell.. He had belonged to the Knights of Columbus for over 30 years, and a member of the Optimists, American Legion, Vietnam Veterans, and the Million Dollar Roundtable. He served on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity and was a Disaster Coordinator for the American Red Cross, where he was in charge of one of the shelters in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. His hobbies included play by play on the radio for both the University of South Carolina and University of Nebraska-Omaha basketball teams as well as KGRN. He was an avid handyman, a lector and Eucharistic Minister for St. Mary's Catholic Church, and organized the Knights of Columbus blood drive each year. He was an extra in the Hollywood western movie, The Long Riders, while stationed in Georgia. Survivors include his wife, Charlotte of Kellogg; two children, Thomas 'Pete' Compo, Jr. and Christopher 'Mike' Compo, both of Grinnell; two grandchildren, Preston Compo of Grinnell and Victoria Compo of Denver, Colorado; one brother, Richard Compo of Seneca Falls, New York; and three sisters, Jenny Cean of Adams Center, New York and Carol Williams and Janice Hampton, both of Naples, Florida. He was preceded in death by his parents.