It is with the heaviest of hearts we announce the sudden passing of our best friend, beloved father, brother and uncle, Thomas Edward Wettengel, on October 11, 2021, at his home in California, Maryland.
Tommy was born to Constance Walker Wettengel and Edmund Weston Wettengel, Jr. on October 25, 1963, in Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. As Tommy grew up, he chose to spend his life and raise his family in St. Mary’s County.
Tommy is survived by his son, Jeffrey Wettengel (fiancée Caroline); his daughter, Christina Seeley (Tim); his brother Michael Wettengel (Teena); his sister Cindy Greb (fiancé Tim); his nieces and nephews Bryan, Kelsey (Frankie), Bradley, Ben (fiancée Jacki), Samantha, and Alexandra; and so many wonderful friends and family.
Tommy graduated from Great Mills High School in 1981 and spent much of his life working with his family to help build the beautiful Wildewood Community – where so many families still call home. Tommy always took such pride in his work and always wanted to help create and build homes that he knew would stand the test of time.
Although Tommy spent most of his life in St. Mary’s County, his life was full of adventures – from crabbing in a canoe with his brother when he was little to helping his son catch a world record blue marlin; from watching over his little sister to walking his beautiful daughter down the aisle; from building minibikes with his dad and brother to building and racing cars to restoring old cars with friends; from digging in the dirt to mastering every piece of heavy equipment he could; from starting a computer repair company in the 80s to designing and drawing beautiful custom homes; from hunting quail in Georgia to hunting checkered flags at Potomac Speedway in Budd’s Creek, Maryland; from driving a little whaler in the Bay as a kid to helping charter sailboats and sportfishing boats across the ocean.
He loved his family, his community, and wanted to take care of everyone – from volunteering in his community to running on the Lexington Park Rescue Squad to helping tirelessly during and after natural disasters; from plowing roads during snowstorms to delivering water, food, and supplies to those stranded after hurricanes. Wherever he was in the world, he was always only a phone call away.
Tommy lived his life to the extreme – but it was the quiet moments he enjoyed most, soaking in his friends and family, watching the sunrise – wherever he was at the time.
In all of his life adventures the greatest of them all was watching and helping guide his two children as they grew into incredible adults. His love and pride for his children showed in everything he did. He made sure he was always there for them, he encouraged them in everything they did, and felt so privileged and honored that they called him dad.
Tommy had an infectious personality, smile, and warm heart – he was a combination of the best traits of everyone he knew. He was loving, kind, compassionate, encouraging, strong, funny, loyal, ambitious, daring, and had unwavering integrity and character. Tommy was everyone’s “no matter what” – he would do anything for anyone, no matter what!
To our family & friends – carry him close to your hearts and do something kind and fun every day. To Jeff & Christina – thank you for bringing him the greatest of joy in his life…believe in yourselves and take care of each other. To Tommy – thank you for teaching us all how to love selflessly, work a little harder, and play a little more…rest easy, we’ve got this.
The family will celebrate Tommy by hosting a reception on Sunday, October 31st from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at the new outdoor Pavilion on the St. Mary’s River at Historic St. Mary’s City. In the event of inclement weather, the reception will be moved into the historic St. Mary’s City State House (next to the Pavilion). We ask that if you are not able to attend but would like us to share a special story or memory, please send it to us and we will share it on the 31st. The Pavilion and State House are located at 1676 Old State House Road, St. Mary’s City, MD 20686. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Ridge Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 456, Ridge, MD 20680.
