Dr. Thomas C. Sparkman

Dr. Thomas Carroll Sparkman, beloved husband, father, grandfather, physician, and servant of the Lord, passed peacefully into his eternal reward on October 13, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. He was 93. He was born on November 2, 1931, and was raised on a small family farm near Poplar Bluff, Missouri. His deep Christian faith, instilled early and carried throughout his life, guided every aspect of his personal and professional journey. Dr. Sparkman lived a life of loving the Lord and loving others. As a longtime member of the Church of Christ, and later of St. Andrew Lutheran Church and Zion Lutheran Church, Tom lived by the example of Christ-selflessly serving his fellow man with gentleness, sacrifice, wisdom, dedication, and compassion. After finishing his high school studies at age 16, Dr. Sparkman then studied at Harding College, David Lipscomb University, and then Southeast Missouri State University, earning a degree in education. He taught for four years in the rural Rushville Schools, a one roomed school, before joining the Army during the Korean conflict. It was there he was trained as a medical specialist and his love for medicine was born. Following his military service, he earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In 1963, he began what would become a six-decade career of serving the Cape Girardeau area, most of that time in family medicine. He was one of the first board-certified family physicians in Cape Girardeau, and a founding member of Cape Girardeau Doctors' Park, where he served on the board as president for many years. Dr. Sparkman practiced medicine in an era when family doctors gave everything of themselves. He rose before dawn to make hospital rounds, spent long days seeing patients in the office, returned to the hospital in the evenings to round again, and dictated charts late into the night. He made house calls, delivered numerous babies, met his patients in the ER, performed in-office surgeries, and answered the call literally day and night with unwavering dedication. Sundays were different-he paused for church to "spend time with my maker" and then family lunch first before returning to care for his patients. His service was not just his profession, but his calling. There are countless stories from those under his care who would patiently wait all day to see him because of the attention they would receive, many relating stories of how Dr. Sparkman diagnosed an illness when no one else could, or made a dramatic change in their quality of life or even how he saved their lives. In his later years, Dr. Sparkman extended his care to the elderly and vulnerable, working with the Community Counseling Center, Crown Hospice, and serving as Medical Director for several nursing homes in the surrounding area, and even participated on a medical mission trip to Africa at age 80. His commitment to healing spanned generations and touched thousands of lives. He also served his profession and his community through leadership roles: he was President of the Cape Girardeau County Area Medical Society and was President of the Missouri State Medical Association. He was an alternate delegate to the American Medical Association and served as an associate councilor from Missouri for the Southern Medical Association. He also served as a board member of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Board of Trustees, St. Andrew Lutheran Church, and the SEMO District Fair Board. He was a proud member of various groups such as the American Academy of Family Practice, the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Geriatrics Society. He participated in numerous medical research trials and introduced Cape County's first dialysis machine-an innovation that would later extend his own life. Dr. Sparkman retired in 2023, completing an extraordinary 60-year medical career. In 1979, he married the love of his life, Carol Wessell-Hahn, and together they shared a deep commitment to each other over a 45-year marriage grounded in mutual love, respect, and putting the other first. Despite the demands of his profession, Tom made time for his children's and grandchildren's events-recitals, sporting events, graduations-always a supportive and loving presence. He and Carol shared a love for travel, often serving as the accompanying physician on executive trips for Chrysler Automotive. Their journeys took them around the world-to Paris, London, Australia, Japan and many destinations in between. At home, Tom found joy in gardening, treasure hunting for grocery bargains (oftentimes in the middle of the night after leaving the hospital), and delighting in unexpected finds-like bringing home mystery canned goods without labels or a 50-pound bag of brownie mix. A quiet philanthropist, Dr. Sparkman supported countless causes, including the Southeast Showcase, St. Louis University, the American Cancer Society, and Southeast Missouri Hospital. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Echeberger and Gertrude Gardner Sparkman; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Albert H. Wessell and Dorothy Wessell; his brother, Glenn Sparkman; his sisters, Mary Nell, Alice Lee, Verna, and Vera Sparkman; his son, Thomas Kendall Sparkman; and infant granddaughter, Sage Elizabeth Sparkman. He is survived by his beloved wife, Carol Sparkman, and his legacy is secure in their children: Randy (Laura) Sparkman, Dr. Mark (Angel) Hahn, and Tara (Shawn) King. He was a proud grandfather to Thomas Sumner Sparkman, Blake Sparkman, Caden Hahn, Sienna Hahn, Everly Hahn, Tanner King, and Callie King; and he is also survived by many nieces and nephews. His love of medicine is being passed down to son, Mark, a family physician, his granddaughter, Blake, a future physician, and granddaughter, Callie, a future nurse. Dr. Sparkman leaves behind a legacy not only of professional excellence but of deep faith, unyielding dedication, and a servant's heart. His was a life well-lived and a race well-run. There is no doubt he is hearing the words from Matthew 25:21 - "Well done, good and faithful servant." Visitation will be held on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 3:00 until 6:00 PM at Ford and Sons Funeral Home at 1001 N. Mt Auburn Rd. in Cape Girardeau, MO. Visitation will continue Monday, October 20, 2025, from 9:00 until 11:00 AM at Zion Lutheran Church, 176 Co Rd 226, Gordonville, MO, 63701. Funeral service will follow at 11:00 AM at Zion with the Rev. Daniel Warner officiating, with a luncheon to follow. Military rights and committal will be held at 2:00 PM at Cape County Memorial Park Mausoleum. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to Zion Lutheran Church in support of their sound system improvement fund, or a charity of your choice..

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Dr. Thomas C. Sparkman

November 2, 1931 - October 13, 2025