Platt, Thomas
Thomas Alexander (Plokstis) Platt, 73, of Manchester, passed away on February 8 at Hartford Hospital following a brave and courageous 10year battle with cancer. Shawn Maynard, his longtime partner, companion, and caregiver, was by his side, along with their friend, Rev. Mary Horan. Born August 2, 1950, he was the son of the late Adela Yakaitis and Alexander (Plokstis) Platt of Manchester, and was a life-long resident. He attended the Buckland School, Bennett Junior High, and graduated from Manchester High, class of 1968. In 1972, following his graduation from the University of CT, Tom entered the United States Marine Corps at the height of the Vietnam War, and proudly served stateside until the war ended. Initially drafted to the US Army, when he went to the recruitment office at Union Station in Hartford, the officer assigned to the Army office was at lunch. A recruiting sergeant at the Marine Corps office called Tom over, signed him up, and gave him a deferment until after his graduation from UConn. Tom was elated to join the Marines - The Few, The Proud, as he did not want to be just a soldier (no offense to the Army and other military branches)!
After his honorable discharge, jobs for many college graduates and discharged servicemen and women were not plentiful. His sister Suzanne, an employee of Amtrak at its 30th Street offices in Philadelphia, landed Tom a job working on the rails in Connecticut, which led to a 41-year career, ending as station manager in Meriden, also overseeing sales for the Shoreline East connection.
He was predeceased by his parents, maternal and paternal grandparents, close cousins Marsha Platt and Patricia Platt Agnew and their parents, maternal Yakaitis and Morowski aunts, uncles and cousins, and his former brother-in-law Rick Schlinkman. Also, his second mother, Betty Maynard Miles and her husband Earle and dear friends, Valda and Hugh LeMasurier, Duane, and his son Kevin, Carlberg and Molly Zoll. In addition to Shawn, those left to mourn his passing include his step-son Kevin Howell, his sister Suzanne Platt, paternal cousins Kathy Platt Stone, Robert Platt, Esq., and a number of maternal Yakaitis and Morowski cousins. Also left to mourn his passing is his best friend since childhood, Ray Dzen, and Shawn's sister, Michele (Robert) Maclure; Shawn's sister Jill (Phyllis) Moroch, his nephews, Ryan Schlinkman and Kyle Schlinkman-Minnucci and their families, nieces Melissa Maclure Strickett and her family, and Rebecca Maclure Rose, long-time friends Shirley and Rick Beyor, Barbara Carlberg Boucher and her daughters Kristina, Kara, Meagen and Kourtney; Margaret and Robert Daly, MD and their children, Susan, Billy, JJ, Stephen, Kim, David, Michael and Bobby; Lisa and Craig Elliott, MD, and their daughters Sarah and Rebecca; MaryKay and Donald Fontaine, Lindee LeMasurier Hay, Linda and Michael Keenan, MD and their children, Ryan, Joey, Reilly, Jack and Cooper; Douglas LeMasurier, Jamie LeMasurier, Laura Madden, Janet Ossen, Liz and Rick Pomeroy, Marie and Robert Santa, Susan Trauner, and Taz, his constant feline companion the past three years.
Tom was fortunate to have a wonderful team of physicians – W. Jeffrey Baker, MD, Jennifer Bellino, MD, Daniel Collins, MD, Stephen Hauser, MD, Michael Keenan, MD, Clinton Kuwada, MD, Sope Olugbile, MD, Akshay Patel, DO, Charles Rutter, MD, Marlene Schwartz, MD and Michael Siev, MD, all of whom provided him with exceptional care, and treated him with kindness and respect. Special thanks and gratitude to Jessica Lathrop, RN, Melissa O'Neill, APRN, Nicole Silva, SP, and Morgan Vozzolo, RT. He was very grateful to the Diagnostic Imaging and Emergency Services staff at Windham Hospital and the excellent staff on numerous in-patient units and operating rooms at Hartford Hospital that cared for him the past eight months, most especially the staff on CB2, including the hospice and palliative care teams, whose kind and compassionate end-of-life care cannot be duplicated anywhere!
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to: Windham Hospital Foundation, 112 Mansfield Avenue, Willimantic, CT 06226, for The Lennox R. Brodeur Oncology Support Funds. https://windhamhospital.org/ giving.
Calling Hours will be on Sunday, March 10, 2024, from 1:00-3:00 pm, followed by a celebration of life starting at 3:00 pm; at Holmes-Watkins Funeral Home 400 Main Street, Manchester, CT. To leave a message of condolence, please visit https://www.holmeswatkins.com.