Herman C. Tholen

October 7, 1945 - June 19, 2018

Herman C. Tholen age 72, passed away Tuesday June 19th, 2018 at his home in Oxford, Ohio surrounded by his family. Herman was born October 7th, 1945 In Cincinnati Ohio to Conrad and Mary Tholen (Meyer). His older sister Kathy (Bath) was excited to have a little brother. In 1951 Herman’s only brother, Karl, was born. His childhood home was located in Walnut Hills, Ohio. He attended St. Francis De Sales until 6th grade, when his family moved to Blue Ash, Ohio where he attend St Saviors Elementary School. While attending high school at Moller, he played football and ran track. Herman was very proud of the school track records he held. His junior year of high school he began attending New York Tech in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from this program at the top of his class. In April of 1963 he met the love of his life, Diana Meister. Shortly after his 20th birthday he was drafted into the Vietnam war. He was a member of the Army, B company 704th maintenance battalion 4th infantry division. Him and Diana were married on February 12th, 1966 in a beautiful ceremony at St Saviors Catholic Church. Shortly after their wedding he was deployed and was overseas and proudly fought for his country until his discharge on August 24th, 1967. He remained a member of the Army reserves until November 18, 1971. He received several decorations while serving his country including, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Sharpshooter, and one Overseas Service Bar. Upon returning home him and Diana started their little family with the birth of their first daughter Cynthia Ann (Fritsch) on July 6th, 1968. During the winter of 1969 they bought their first home in New Burlington, Ohio. It was at this time they met their lifelong friends, Don and Sandy Hayes who lived down the street from them. In 1969 Herman joined the New Burlington volunteer fire department. He remained an active member of the department until his retirement as Chief in the early 90’s. On September 8, 1970 they welcomed their 2nd daughter Betty Jane (Lightfield) who they lovingly called Janey after Diana’s cousin who had passed away. On April 12, 1972 their third Daughter, Tina Marie (Reiff) was born. In that same year they moved from their little house on Blue Hill Drive to the home they would raise their family in, on Roxanna Dr. in Springfield Township where they lived for 21 years. On November 23, 1976 they celebrated the birth of their 4th and final daughter Kathy Renee (Myers). Herman was incredibly proud of his family and worked very hard to provide for them. He worked for several years at Foley’s Construction Company until the company was sold. After leaving Foley’s he was employed at Art’s Rental Company until his retirement in 2014. In 1993, they fulfilled their dream of moving to the country when they bought a home in Oxford, Ohio. They would live in this home for the next 25 years. Their family continued to grow when they welcomed the first of 14 grandchildren. Janey lovingly welcomed her first son, Michael Tholen in January 1990. That same year the family grew some more when their oldest daughter, Cyndi, married Chad Fritsch on April 21,1990. Cyndi and Chad gave them 3 more grandsons, Billy, Timmy, and Marty. On August 27th, 1994 their daughter Tina married Jeff Reiff and gave them their first granddaughter, Cadie. Followed by another grandson Andrew and their youngest granddaughter Madison. Janey, added to their family again with the birth of Nicholas and Sarah Tatman. On April 17,1999 their youngest daughter married her high school sweetheart, David Myers, and Matthew and Jessica were added to the family shortly after. Janey added 3 more granddaughters, Hailey, Tori and Hannah, when she married Chris Lightfield, on December 27, 2012. After a long hard battle with cancer Herman and Diana suffered the loss of their youngest daughter Kathy on February 13, 2014. Shortly after their daughters death their Grandson Billy and Megan Fritsch welcomed their first great granddaughter Gracelyn Kennedy Fritsch. 3 years later Billy and Megan gave them their first great grandson Zander James Fritsch. A few months after Zanders birth Nicholas and Kelsi welcomed another great granddaughter Jozi Kathleen Tatman. In the spring of 2018 they built a little house behind the barn next to their daughter. They were excited to sit and watch their grandkids play and lived out their days in the peaceful setting. Herman loved giving back to his community starting at a young age. When he was in elementary school he served as an altar boy for his church. He volunteered as a fire man and EMT for the New Burlington Fire Department. Herman also volunteered to coach his daughters' softball teams, coached football, and in his later years he was the varsity coach for Talawanda’s Bowling Team. He was a member of the HAWK’s club where he assisted with club activities and races. Herman was also a member OVKA where he proudly worked on his grandsons racing carts. Herman and Diana loved traveling. They would often use the excuse of watching their grandchildren compete to sneak in a vacation here or there. They loved watching their grandchildren play, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, swimming, and cart racing. However, their favorite trip was taken in 2014 when they packed their camper up and traveled from one end of the country to the other. They are very proud to say they have visited every state, but five. They enjoyed taking cruises with their families and enjoyed visiting the Caribbean the best. After a very short battle with cancer Herman took his greatest adventure ever on June 19th, 2018. Herman is preceded in death by his daughter Kathy Myers, his parents Conrad and Mary (Meyers) Tholen, and brother Karl Tholen. Herman is survived by his wife Diana (Meister), daughters and son in-laws : Cyndi and Chad Fritsch, Janey and Chris Lightfield, Tina and Jeff Reiff and son in-law David Myers; Sister: Kathy Bath; Grandchildren: Michael Tholen, Billy (Megan) Fritsch, Timmy Fritsch, Marty Fritsch, Cadie Reiff, Andrew Reiff, Madison Reiff, Matthew Myers, Jessica Myers, Nicholas Tatman, Sarah Tatman, Hailey Lightfield, Tori Lightfield and Hannah Lightfield: Great grandchildren: Gracelyn Fritsch, Zander Fritsch and Jozi Tatman. Niece and Nephew: Lynn (Mike) Harris, Doug Bath and Tim (Chrissy) Bath. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at Weigel Funeral Home, 980 N. W. Washington Blvd. with Dennis Williams officiating. Burial will be in Darrtown Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday, June 25 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Online condolences are available at www.weigelfuneralhome.com