Submitted by: Nadine Hardin

Name:  Kovacs, Thomas A.

Names in Obituary:  Kovacs, Mmyers, Swartz, McKee

South Bend Tribune, Obituaries; September 8, 1999

Thomas A. Kovacs (March 2, 1980 - Sept. 6, 1999)

Thomas Andrew Kovacs, 19, of South Bend, Ind., passed away on Monday, Sept. 6, at Silver Beach in St. Joseph, Mich.

Tom was born on March 2, 1980, in Anderson, Ind.

He is survived by his mother, Karen Kovacs of South Bend; his father, Steven (Nancy) Kovacs of South Bend; his maternal grandparents, Paul and Phyllis Myers of Mishawaka, Ind.; paternal grandmother, Amanda Swartz of South Bend; his step-paternal grandmother, Beverly Kovacs of South Bend; and two stepbrothers, Jeremy McKee of South Bend and Chris McKee of Bloomington, Ind.

Thomas was a sophomore at Indiana University South Bend where he was studying to be a kindergarten or special education teacher. He thought he could really help special education students because he had been through so much of it himself. He led a physically active life, lettering in wrestling his senior year at Clay, and taking part in the ROTC program. He also regularly participated in the River City Rollers wheelchair basketball league at Logan Center. At IUSB, he was the president of Students Together Abled and Respected, or STAAR, a group dedicated to raising disability awareness by organizing activities such as wheelchair basketball tournaments and bike-a-thons.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 10, in the Kaniewski Funeral Home, 3545 N. Bendix Drive, South Bend. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9, in the Kaniewski Funeral Home, where a Rosary will be prayed at 7 p.m.

Memorial contributions may be made to Camp Riley, c/o Notre Dame Federal Credit Union, 2102 E. Ireland Road, South Bend, IN 46614.