Thomas "Tom" Bales

A celebration of life for Tom Bales, 63, of Milo will be held August 22, 2020 from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m. at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Milo. A Bell Ceremony (ringing of the bell) will begin at 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home and a procession will lead to the Hammondsburg Cemetery. Memorials are requested to the Milo Fire Department. Tom was born December 5, 1956 in Des Moines, Iowa to Leroy "Buck" and Edna Mae Coffman Bales. He grew up in the Milo area graduating from Southeast Warren High School in 1975. Tom was a long time member of the Milo Fire Department. He joined the department in 1975. Shortly after he joined, he became the EMS Captain. In 1983 he became the Fire Chief and after 36 years he retired his Chief position in 2019. Tom made great achievements to the Milo Fire Service. He pushed his men and women to be the best firefighters and medics that they could be. He was a mentor to so many young people in our community. He had a very tough demeanor as Fire Chief. There was never any doubt about how he felt about things. If you did something well you knew it and if you did something wrong you really knew it. He helped save many lives, brought new lives into this world and unfortunately had to watch many lives leave this world. Tom was a pillar in our fire department and in his community. He was an incredible man and will be so terribly missed by his fire family and by anyone who knew him. Rest easy Chief Bales. Local Chester Crouse wrote 'When Tom decided he wanted to be a police officer, he worked part time for the City of Milo. He was tutored by Ed Huntoon, a retired Warren County Deputy. Someone came up with the names of Enos and Roscoe, from a popular tv show. The names stuck to this day. I was an EMT for the Milo Fire Department and I was charged with his training, easiest person I ever trained. Living and working in Milo, he was on call 24/7. Whether it was being a Warren County Deputy until he retired from the Sheriff's office, Milo Fire Chief , or Tomin Towing and Auto Repair. He would answer the call. We had a lot of fun together as friends or Fire Department operations. He cared very much for his family, his business and his community.' Tom is survived by his wife, Mindy Bales of Milo; children: Audra (Jerad Souer) Bales of Milo, Alisha (Robert) Thornton of Carlisle, Jared (Kim Thornburg) Draper of Des Moines, and Randa (Mike) Carnes of Indianola; 7 grandchildren; and sister, Anita Bales of Alexandria, Virginia. Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Leroy and Edna Bales; brother, Timothy Bales, and sister, Annette Bales. Cemetery Details Hammondsburg Cemetery Milo, IA 50166

Celebration of Life

AUG 22. 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM (CST)

Pierschbacher Funeral Homes - Milo

201 Walnut Street,

Milo, IA 50166

[email protected]

https://www.pierschbacherfuneralhome.com

Graveside Service

AUG 22. 3:00 PM (CST)

Hammondsburg Cemetery

Milo, IA 50166