Thomas Leonard 'Tommy' Eesley

Thomas Leonard “Tommy” Eesley was born 1 December 1930 in Columbus, Ohio — the elder son of Leonard David Eesley (1904–1976) and Helen Bernadine Alspach (b. 1902). His father was the eldest of Charles Leonard and Lillie Dale’s eight children, which made Tommy the eldest grandchild of that generation.

He appears in two photographs in this archive across the first decade of his life:

• Around 1933 — as the small boy with his uncle Will at Black Lake, Michigan (Maggie Eesley’s deck, slide 4). Born in December 1930, he was around two or three.
• Around 1937–1939 — as the young boy in shorts and a light sweater standing at his grandfather Charles Leonard’s right hand, in the group portrait with five of his uncles. He would have been around seven to nine.

Both frames feature Tommy as the lone grandchild present — the eldest of the next generation, the only one yet born in the 1930s window when they were made.

Marriages and children

Per Bean’s 1985 register, Tommy married twice. His first wife was Alymer E. Crafts (d. 1974); with her he had three children:

• Amy Helen Eesley, b. 1 December 1958
• Laurie Collene Eesley, b. 16 July 1962
• Dale Thomas Eesley, b. 1 February 1965

He later married a second time, to Dorothy, who brought two stepchildren (Stacie and Stephen) into the family. His younger brother was James Michael “Mike” Eesley (b. 1938).

Sources: Mary Eesley Bean, Eesley Family History, 1985 (descendant register, generations IV–VI); Maggie Eesley, Four Generations of the Eesley Family.