Tom was born and raised in Kimberly, Wisconsin, and graduated from Kimberly High School in 1981. After completing his undergraduate and law school degrees, he moved to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, joining the law firm of Kahler, Chiquoine & Krueger. He practiced municipal law, personal injury, and contract law from 1988 to 1990.

In 1990, Tom was hired by the Winnebago County District Attorney’s Office and was an assistant district attorney until 1994, when he was promoted to Winnebago County Deputy District Attorney. During his time in the district attorney’s office, he tried more than 100 jury trials. In 2000, Tom was elected to Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 1 and spent the last 18 years on the bench. As a judge, Tom has presided over 250 jury trials and more than 50,000 cases. After 18 years on the bench, Tom decided to retire and return to helping people on the other side of the bench.

Deacon Tom has been married for 34 years to Lori, and they have two adult children. Lori is retired from Outagamie County Mental Health Services after working for over 30 years with the chronically mentally ill in the community. Daughter Melissa is married to her wife Cassie and lives in Oshkosh. Son, Thomas Jr., is married, and he and his wife, Mary, live in Neenah with their first child Thomas III. 

Tom was ordained to the diaconate in the Catholic Church by the Most Reverend Bishop David Ricken on May 13, 2017, and currently serves as a deacon at St. Gabriel the Archangel in Neenah, Wisconsin.