Childhood Biography

Tom Schommer was born on February 16, 1958, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His father, worked as a textile worker in a factory in Springfield while his mother waited tables in a small café. The family moved back to Nebraska, which was the childhood home of his father, when Tom was 2 years old.

Tom's parents separated when he was 6 years old. As a result, Tom spent the next couple of years living in O'Neill with his father and his two older brothers, Ronald and Leonard. During this time, his two younger brothers, Rick and Steve went to live with his grandparents on a farm just east of Spencer, Nebraska.

At age 9, Tom joined his two younger brothers and spent a year living on his grandparent's farm east of Spencer, while his older brothers Ronald and Leonard went to Omaha, Nebraska to live with his Aunt and Uncle.

For a short time during 4th and 5th grade, Tom joined his two older brothers and lived in Omaha with his father, while his two younger brothers remained with his grandparents on the farm east of Spencer.

When he was 11 years old, Tom was re-united with all four of his brothers for the 1st time in over 5 years when his family moved into a home in O'Neill during a blizzard in late November 1969.

Tom attended O'Neill St. Mary's from 5th grade until early into his sophomore year in high school. At that time his family purchased and moved to his grandparents farm just east of Spencer. He attended Spencer Public High School where he graduated in 1976. Tom was very active in all sports where he participated every year in baseball, football, basketball, track as well as being a lifeguard.

As the middle child in a single-parent family torn by his father's alcoholism and abusive nature, Tom learned early on how to deal with difficult situations. Tom lived in a 625 sq. ft. farmhouse along with four brothers and a father. The house did not have running water, heat, telephone, or television. Earning less than $9,000 per year, his father tried the best he could to provide for the family, while at the same time, refusing to accept any government assistance such as welfare or food stamps.

Tom is thankful for those childhood experiences and has used them as a motivator for himself as well as to help others in need. They taught him perseverance and resilience. They also gave him a clear understanding of how as a community, it is important to help those that are less fortunate. Tom is appreciative of those in the community who looked over his family and helped out during his childhood years.

During all of his Junior High and High School years, Tom worked a variety of weekend and summer jobs trying to earn enough money to help provide for himself as well as his younger brothers. While in Junior High, Tom worked in the Neighborhood Youth Corps as an assistant to the janitor at O'Neill St. Mary's, where he mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, painted, mowed lawns, cleaned gum off of desks, as well as other necessary tasks.

During his high school years, Tom worked weekends and summers doing odd jobs for different farmers in the area as well as for the Village of Spencer. Shortly after graduation in 1976, Tom spent the summer of 1976 in Omaha working at Greater Omaha Packing, a beef-packing house.