On January, 20, 2015, Thomas William Kling was reunited in Heaven with the love of his life, Sheryl Lynn Isbell Kling.  Tom was born in Marlin, Texas, on October, 29, 1947, to his loving parents William Edgar Kling and Nell Richardson Kling.  He grew up in Kosse, Texas, and attended school in his early years in Kosse and graduated from Groesbeck High School in May 1966.  He attended SMU and then Sam Houston State University where he met Sheryl Lynn Isbell in July 1969 and informed her that very same evening that he would marry her. Tom and Sheryl were married on December 20, 1969, at North End United Methodist Church in Beaumont, Texas, and enjoyed many happy years together until Sheryl’s death on January 12, 2008. Tom passed away at St. Joseph Hospital in Bryan after a long illness.

Tom was a strong and loving presence in his family, served his country in the Texas Army National Guard, and made many friends in his career in the automobile business over many years in the Beaumont area. Mostly he enjoyed his second career of hosting innumerable weddings, reunions, and parties in the Beaumont area, sharing his love and knowledge of music and his extensive library of varied types of music and performers.  He was known to all of us who were his family, friends, and even customers as unfailingly supportive and thoughtful of others’ thoughts and feelings.  Even though he was quiet by nature, you could always count on a good time around Tom or at one of his events.  He was happiest when surrounded by others who were having a good time.  His thoughtfulness and care for others was evident even as a child, being very protective of his little sister, or much later, helping a large, extended family escape the wrath of a merciless Gulf Coast hurricane and finding safety and security. Also when he was devoting years of caring for his mother in his home through a chronic illness she suffered, until she neared the end of her journey.  He found in his wife, Sheryl, a tireless and endlessly cheerful companion and joyful soul mate in all of their endeavors, and her passing left an irreplaceable void in his life. He will be missed by all who had the privilege to know his kind and caring spirit and his boundless love of music, friends, and family. 

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Edgar and Nell; his wife, Sheryl; and his father-in-law, George W. Isbell. 

He is survived by his sister, Kathy Ellis and her husband, Bob, of Bryan; his mother-in-law, Mae Isbell of Beaumont; his sister-in-law, Kaye Gammon of Houston; his niece, Jennifer Kay Ellis of Fort Worth and her boyfriend, Adam Skokan-Guinn; nephews, Justin Gammon of Beaumont and Jeffrey Gammon and his wife, Kristen, of Xenia, Ohio, and their children, Shiloh and Chaya; and an extended family and a host of wonderful friends and associates in Southeast and Central Texas.

His family is grateful for the loving care and support of medical staff, prayerful friends, and family that sustained them during his extended illness from last year to the present.