Thomas Knecht
October 22, 2024 at 4:36 p.m.
Thomas William Knecht, 68, passed away from his earthly home on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, after a brief illness with the return of melanoma in a metastatic state after 12 years of being in remission.
Tom was the son of the late Robert and Bonnie Knecht, of Brookville. Born on September 3, 1956, Tom was known for his love for his family, his faith and his love for all things construction.
Tom left his birth town of Brookville in 1975 and began a career with the late Jimmy Robertson, whose many companies did work for the Corps of Engineers. At the age of 18, Tom was promoted to superintendent of his team, leading them to build many projects across the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
In 1983, Tom moved to Crestwood, Kentucky with Debbie, who was the love of his life, following her career with Bell South. After years of being gone and working full weeks away from home, Tom decided to begin his own personal custom home building business, T&D Builders, Inc. During his lifetime, Tom and Debbie built over 200 homes, a veterinary clinic, the American Red Cross building in LaGrange as well as many personal homes for his family.
Many of the new construction homes were built in Briar Hill Farms and Estates which helped make these subdivisions what they are today, as he built many personal relationships along the way. He had an eye for creating and designing the very best building product possible, which created requests from clients to begin remodeling. His obsession with nothing but the best showed in his homes and the quality of his work, as he was often described as “One of the best in Oldham County.”
In 1998, Tom partnered with local builder Tim Menard, as well as a good friend Kevin Mesker, and they bought the Oldham County Lumber Yard. Soon after making this purchase, they bought property, built a larger building and moved to a new location to be able to expand the business. Tom loved being around people and all things construction, so this partnership was a dream come true for this trio.
Over the years, Tom partnered with many sub-contractors, builders, and business owners to help make Oldham County a great place to live. He leaves behind many great friends, people he believed in and supported when others may not have, and a love for all builders and developers in Oldham County.
Tom’s family was his pride and joy. In 1975, he met his wife of 47 years, Debbie Prather, in Somerset, Kentucky where he was working on a project for the Corps of Engineers. They had two children, Chastity Welsh of Crestwood, Kentucky and Rachel Shomate of Tega Cay, South Carolina. His girls were his pride and joy. You could not talk to without him bragging about his girls.
His family grew as Chastity married Adam Welsh and they had two children, Adison Dawn (17) and Olivia Grace (15). Rachel married the late Daniel Shomate, and they had two children, Lucas Thomas (12) and Reed Maddox (11). These eight were the heartbeat to Tom.
He and Debbie would travel hours to watch soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and football games of their grandkids. They purchased an RV in recent years and started traveling the US, often meeting their kids and grandkids in their travels. Tome was an avid lover of the beach and loved exploring new places.
Tom would do anything for his family. He loved helping his daughters and often repaired things at their homes, worked in their yards, and added beautiful additions. He would run carpool, take his grandkids to dinner, movies and to activities, and volunteered at the kids’ school when needed. He was a member of Southeast Christian Church Crestwood, where he was baptized by his grandaughters on July 28, 2024.
Tom is also survived by his four siblings, Denise (Kenny) Handley, Debbie (Terry) Tolson, Tim (Linda Gaston) Knecht, and Bobbi (Eric) Princell. He is also survived by Arlo, his four legged friend. Arlo was named after his four grandchildren, came to be his best friend, enjoying daily walks, watching old westerns, and late-night ice cream eating.
Tom is already greatly missed by all. He was the life of the party, always had your back, and would give you anything you ever needed. His legacy and infectious laughter will live on through all of us.
Visitation will be held on October 25 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Stoess Funeral Home, 6534 West Hwy 22, Crestwood, KY, 40014. The funeral service will be on Saturday, October 26 at Southeast Christian Church - Crestwood Campus at 10:00 a.m. with the burial following in the Floydsburg Cemetery, Crestwood, Kentucky. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimers Association or the American Cancer Society.
Paid obituary.
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Thomas William Knecht, 68, passed away from his earthly home on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, after a brief illness with the return of melanoma in a metastatic state after 12 years of being in remission.
Tom was the son of the late Robert and Bonnie Knecht, of Brookville. Born on September 3, 1956, Tom was known for his love for his family, his faith and his love for all things construction.
Tom left his birth town of Brookville in 1975 and began a career with the late Jimmy Robertson, whose many companies did work for the Corps of Engineers. At the age of 18, Tom was promoted to superintendent of his team, leading them to build many projects across the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas.
In 1983, Tom moved to Crestwood, Kentucky with Debbie, who was the love of his life, following her career with Bell South. After years of being gone and working full weeks away from home, Tom decided to begin his own personal custom home building business, T&D Builders, Inc. During his lifetime, Tom and Debbie built over 200 homes, a veterinary clinic, the American Red Cross building in LaGrange as well as many personal homes for his family.
Many of the new construction homes were built in Briar Hill Farms and Estates which helped make these subdivisions what they are today, as he built many personal relationships along the way. He had an eye for creating and designing the very best building product possible, which created requests from clients to begin remodeling. His obsession with nothing but the best showed in his homes and the quality of his work, as he was often described as “One of the best in Oldham County.”
In 1998, Tom partnered with local builder Tim Menard, as well as a good friend Kevin Mesker, and they bought the Oldham County Lumber Yard. Soon after making this purchase, they bought property, built a larger building and moved to a new location to be able to expand the business. Tom loved being around people and all things construction, so this partnership was a dream come true for this trio.
Over the years, Tom partnered with many sub-contractors, builders, and business owners to help make Oldham County a great place to live. He leaves behind many great friends, people he believed in and supported when others may not have, and a love for all builders and developers in Oldham County.
Tom’s family was his pride and joy. In 1975, he met his wife of 47 years, Debbie Prather, in Somerset, Kentucky where he was working on a project for the Corps of Engineers. They had two children, Chastity Welsh of Crestwood, Kentucky and Rachel Shomate of Tega Cay, South Carolina. His girls were his pride and joy. You could not talk to without him bragging about his girls.
His family grew as Chastity married Adam Welsh and they had two children, Adison Dawn (17) and Olivia Grace (15). Rachel married the late Daniel Shomate, and they had two children, Lucas Thomas (12) and Reed Maddox (11). These eight were the heartbeat to Tom.
He and Debbie would travel hours to watch soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball and football games of their grandkids. They purchased an RV in recent years and started traveling the US, often meeting their kids and grandkids in their travels. Tome was an avid lover of the beach and loved exploring new places.
Tom would do anything for his family. He loved helping his daughters and often repaired things at their homes, worked in their yards, and added beautiful additions. He would run carpool, take his grandkids to dinner, movies and to activities, and volunteered at the kids’ school when needed. He was a member of Southeast Christian Church Crestwood, where he was baptized by his grandaughters on July 28, 2024.
Tom is also survived by his four siblings, Denise (Kenny) Handley, Debbie (Terry) Tolson, Tim (Linda Gaston) Knecht, and Bobbi (Eric) Princell. He is also survived by Arlo, his four legged friend. Arlo was named after his four grandchildren, came to be his best friend, enjoying daily walks, watching old westerns, and late-night ice cream eating.
Tom is already greatly missed by all. He was the life of the party, always had your back, and would give you anything you ever needed. His legacy and infectious laughter will live on through all of us.
Visitation will be held on October 25 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Stoess Funeral Home, 6534 West Hwy 22, Crestwood, KY, 40014. The funeral service will be on Saturday, October 26 at Southeast Christian Church - Crestwood Campus at 10:00 a.m. with the burial following in the Floydsburg Cemetery, Crestwood, Kentucky. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Alzheimers Association or the American Cancer Society.
Paid obituary.