In memory of Thomas James Kiolbasa-Atell

Thomas James Kiolbasa-Atell (formerly known as Brandon) was suddenly and tragically taken away from us on September 22, 2021. At 27, his sudden death was a terrible shock to his family and friends. Thomas leaves behind his father John, his mother Diane, his sister Ally and his brother Michael. He also leaves his beloved fiancé Stephanie, her two sisters Sarah and Samantha; and their parents Wendy & Brian McCann,  and Dave & Theresa Telfer.

 

Thomas was the kindest person with the biggest heart. He always had a big smile on his face, and deeply cared for his family and friends. His love for his family was truly pure and sincere.

Thomas was one of my wonderful nephews who was taken away from this world far too soon. Any support for funeral services and memorial expenses would be of an immense help to his family.

 

Below we have shared loving stories from his family and fiancé Stephanie's family:

 

 

From John (dad):

One day, Thomas was leaving for school in early hours and asking to borrow my phone and swap Sim cards because his phone was acting up....

After school they end up going over to someone's home with a pool and decided to all jump in to the pool with all their clothes on / so now his explanation is as I was jumping into the pool I remembered OH no Dad's phone is still in my pocket!

We tried a trick with a bag of rice for two days and all was well ... I had my phone back ...

Always remember his smiling face as he told me what happened to my phone he borrowed

 

From Ally (sister):

Thomas always came home from high school with pictures. They always had these fantastic photographs from the photography class they were taking. I saw a picture with a Pikachu toy that they took and framed, it looked so professional. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to follow in their footsteps and take photography.

 

I would get a professional camera, learn the basics and set up a hobbyist photography Instagram. They helped me every step of the way.

 

I will never be as technically or artistically talented as Thomas was, yet with their guidance I feel limitless. I truly appreciate everything they did and will continue to have an impact on into the future.

 

From Michael (brother):

Thomas was a beacon of positivity and humor everywhere he went. Those who knew him saw a young man determined to make the world a better place then the one he came into.

 

He was passionate about photography, video games, cats, and film. He put family and friends above himself often. He was a driven individual who you could count on to always speak his mind, on any and all subjects. Loyal and brave he embarked out into the world to make his mark and that mark he left on all of us.

 

From Stephanie (fiancé):

 

 

When Tommy and I met, we talked for months before we met in person. Tommy lived in Toronto and I lived in Woodstock. We knew from the beginning that the distance would be hard, but we also knew that it was so worth it. When we finally met in person, it felt like we had know each other forever. It felt like I was meeting up with my best friend, not meeting someone in person for the first time. I knew from then on that Tommy was the one for me. We connected on such a deep level and we talked about anything and everything together. Tommy always wanted me to be my authentic self, never wanted me to try to impress or be someone I'm not. Tommy lived life being their truest self, regardless of what anyone else thought. That's one of many reasons why I fell in love with Tommy, and I feel so lucky that Tommy fell in love with me too.

 

Tommy and I went up to Midland for Ally's wedding and I had never been there before so Tommy wanted to show me all around. On October 31st, the morning of Ally's wedding, we got up early and went to the waterfront. It was such a beautiful morning so we decided to walk along the waterfront and down the dock. We sat out on the dock for a while, just enjoying the moment. We took a few photos of us together and then I went to the edge of the dock to take some photos of the beautiful scenery. I turned back and Tommy was down on one knee and holding a beautiful ring. Tommy had been waiting all weekend and couldn't wait any longer to propose to me. Unknown to me, Tommy had been rehearsing all the things they wanted to say to me when proposing. In that moment though, the exact words didn't matter. All that mattered was how much we love each other. Tommy had barely finished asking "will you marry me?" when I said yes and started crying. Tommy embraced me and I truly felt like the luckiest person in the world. It was such a special moment, it took my breath away. I was so overjoyed. We decided to keep the news to ourselves because we didn't want to take away from Ally's day. It was so hard not to tell anyone, but it was also so special to keep the news to ourselves. I remember thinking how lucky I am to have Tommy and how lucky I am to be engaged to my best friend.

 

I have so many stories of Tommy and its hard to come up with a few that show who Tommy really was. Tommy truly was the kindest, most amazing soul. Tommy loved and cared so deeply for all, especially family. Tommy's smile and laugh would light up any room. Tommy gave the very best hugs and I would do anything for one more hug from my Tommy. ❤❤

 

From Wendy (Stephanie's mom):

 

 

Thomas had the biggest heart I’ve ever known in a person, he loved Stephanie beyond belief and he would tell me that over and over. He often told me that there was nothing he would not do for her. Thomas would tell me that he loved us so much.

 

Thomas is actually Lord Thomas, we bought him 10 ft.³ of land in Scotland and he has a certificate that has his name Lord Thomas and Lady Stephanie on it.

Thomas laughed really hard when we were going to Scotland a couple of weeks ago because I told him I would water his property and cut the grass for him.

 

I had the best time ever teaching Thomas how to make chicken Caesar salad wraps, no matter how hard he tried he could not get the way I showed him and everything would end up all over the place mind you the dogs were happy LOL... He gave up after about the first time.

 

We decided that we were going to get him some new running shoes for Christmas. It was hard trying to measure his shoes because they were so big and I guess he has specially wide feet. We had to order them specially made for him, we wrapped them up for him for Christmas. Christmas morning he was like a child when he open them he was so excited to get these new shoes he started tearing up. We played the Christmas shoes song on the radio and he said he was going to try to learn the song

 

From me, Aunt Sue:

Anyone who crossed Thomas’ path was touched by his many attributes.

He was a genuine person, pure soul, a gentle giant; kind & empathetic and had a heart of gold! His smile could light up a room. He was always there to listen, support and love anybody who needed it! And, his unique sense of humour was infectious. Most of all I am really going to miss his big bear hugs!!

 

You are a ray of Light!

Love you, Thomas!