Thomas L. Steinbrecher
April 24, 1997 - February 6, 2021
On February 6, 2021, Patti, Kerri, Mary and Lou lost their beloved son and brother, and Veronika Walker lost the love of her life Tom. Tom was doing what he loved to do most skiing with friends in the Wasatch Mountains. After having a beautiful morning, unfortunately an avalanche claimed his life as well as the lives of three others. Although he was only 23 years old, Tom lived a full life as an adventurer. He loved climbing, trail running, and most of all backcountry skiing. On his 14th birthday, he skied Tuckerman's Ravine in New Hampshire on a bluebird day with his dad. That fueled his passion for outdoor adventures. He liked to get up before dawn to climb the mountains in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons to be with nature and get in a few runs before work. After work many a day, you could find him rock climbing or ice climbing in the same canyons. Tom had aspirations to be a mountain guide, learning from anyone who was willing to teach him. He himself was a great teacher, with patience and confidence. Tom taught his family how to repel down a rock face, and crack and multi-pitche climbing.
Tom never put life off. A year after he graduated from the University of Utah, he decided that life was too short and spent the summer in the Alps of Chamonix, France climbing some of the tallest peaks with old friends and new. He really knew how to live life to the absolute fullest. Tom lived more in his 23 years than most people live in their entire lives. While we are all devastated by the loss of Tom too soon, we want everybody to celebrate his life and all that he did. We know he is in a better place and will always be with us. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of everybody involved in the Millcreek avalanche. We are grateful to and want to thank all the first responders that helped in the rescue and recovery operations. Tom would want us all to strive to make to most of everyday. So shed a tear, say a prayer for all those grieving, and raise a glass to toast: “Cheers to you Tom for a life well lived.”
In addition to his parents, sisters and partner, Tom leaves behind his paternal grandparents Irma and Lajos Steinbrecher; his maternal grandmother Margaret Bullock; Aunts, uncles and cousins Kathy Shoemaker (Sal DiPrima), Kyle (Betsey), Mark (Christine), Kevin, Laura (Jim) Hatch, Andrew (Makela), Jamie, Kirsten, Jeff (Alice) Steinbrecher, Jeffrey, Patrick, Kieth, and Mary (Zechariah), Richard (Jean) Bullock; amd very close family friends Cathy and Bob Burnside and their children Quinn and Hope and William and Karen Sullivan and their children Katie and Joe.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, February 12, 2021 at 2:00 PM MST at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1375 East Spring Lane, Salt Lake City, UT. Those wishing to attend the mass virtually may do so by returning to this page just prior to the service and clicking the “Watch Service Live” button which will appear above.
Donations may be made in honor of Tom's life to the Utah Avalanche Center by clicking the “Donate” link above or the the GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/459c5278
In Loving Memory
Hi everyone- I’m actually just here to talk about Tom Steinbrecher. I am his girlfriend, and I’m sure many of you knew him. He was passionate and funny and one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. I loved him more than anything. He always made sure to get out there and get after it. Skiing gave him so much purpose and bliss. It was his true love in life. I’ve been told that before the avalanche they were having an incredible ski day and I’m so happy he got some good runs in before it happened. He was very experienced and safe as well as the people he was with like Louis and Chris and Sarah. He knew when to back off and when conditions weren’t good. It could have been any skier. They were all incredible athletes. I’m begging y’all to exercise the utmost caution if you are continuing to backcountry ski this year. Tom and Louis would want everyone to continue pursuing their passions and that is the best way to honor their memory. If you want to blast some Cascada or Mambo no. 5 or Scatman while you’re touring, it would make them so happy. That’s what they were all about. They were so goofy and fun and they wanted to appreciate everything the Wasatch had to offer them. I just wanted to hop on and share some love for them. If y’all have any memories or pictures of Tom and Louis that you want to share, those would be really appreciated. If anyone wants to talk, I am here and I really love talking about Tom and remembering all the great times that we had. Thanks for everything- this community means a lot.
Dear Lou, Patti, Mary, and Kerri, Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Memories of Tom bring a smile, always...such a sweet young man. We pray for peace for you all...
We are so sorry to hear of this tragedy. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. We send our deepest condolences and love. Linda, Leslie and Elaine Gravino
We are so sorry for this loss to the Steinbrecher family and Veronika. Tom was an incredible example of how we should all live life, no regrets and do what you love. Praying comfort, peace, and strength for you all during this difficult time. We love you!
Dear Lou, Patty, Kerri and Mary, In hearing this terrible news Sunday night I could not have been more bowled over. I will never forget Tom. A young man who so clearly had a lust for life and lived it well. To see the wonderful pictures of his adventures only reinforced my observations as we watched grow into a fine young man here at school who spoke often of his dream to be in Utah and find adventure. My heart and thoughts go out to each of you as you strive to somehow accept this loss in your lives. It is my sincerest hope that the wonderful memories you have with Tom help to ease your grief and replaces it with the memory of the love I know he felt for each of you, his family. My very deepest condolences. With Deepest Sympathy, Tom Dinoto
Dear Lou, Patty, Kerri, and Mary I was so saddened t
Dear Lou, Patty, Kerri, and Mary We were so saddened to hear the news about Tom. Our heart breaks for your family and his girlfriend. It was amazing to see how he went after his dreams and lived his life to the fullest. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you all.
Lou, Patti, Kerri, Mary and Veronica I am so saddened and shocked to hear about Tom. I did attend the funeral live feed. Such a difficult time for all of you. I offer my sincerest sympathies. I did hear about his Jackson Hole experience first hand. Prayers for all of you in your most difficult time
Dear Patti, Lou, Kerri, Mary and Veronika, Our family was so saddened to hear about Tom. We offer our deepest sympathy to all your family. After watching the service and video of wonderful pictures, Tom certainly lived life to the fullest and was an inspiration! We pray that God keeps you close and you can feel His grace and love during this difficult time. God Bless. The Grigg Family North Stonington
To all who loved Thomas Steinbrecher - we are so overwhelmed by the pictures and stories we have heard about Tom’s love of nature. We are long time friends of Tom’s parents and can only hope that Tom is closer to God now than he was in the mountains of Utah or wherever he saught adventure. God Bless Thomas Louis Steinbrecher and may you seek adventure forever in eternal peace. God Bless your parents and beautiful sisters.
To the Steinbrecher family - I am deeply saddened by this loss of a beautiful boy. His life was one lived to the fullest. The video of his adventures was awesome. The funeral Mass was a lovely tribute to a wonderful son, a loving brother, and a great companion. Treasure the memories of a life well lived. My sincere condolences to all, Rose Durham and the Durham family.
To Our Dear Friends Patti,Lou, Kerri , and Mary- As we sit in disbelief at the terrible loss that you and Veronica experienced , we are beside ourselves with grief for you all. Tom was such a great kid who grew into an amazing young man . So kind , so smart , so accomplished , we have enjoyed watching him grow up and have been so thankful to have you all as our neighbors . We were so grateful to stream the touching service and to watch that personal video . He was a treasured son and brother as evidenced by your beautiful close knit family. His life lessons and advice will not be lost on those that had the good fortune to know him . As I told you previously , his life was short but was truly “outstanding “. We love you all and will be here for anything you may need. Love - Cindy, Greg , Tessa, and Daniela Roy
Dear Lou, Patti, Kerri, and Mary: We are deeply saddened with broken hearts of Tom's passing. A beautiful tribute to a great guy gone too soon. In the card we sent, the passage fits how we all feel: "This was no ordinary life. This was a life well-lived and well-loved, a life that will be deeply missed." God's blessings and peace are with you all now and always. Tom, Terri, Ryan, and Kylie Garcia North Stonington, CT
Dear Lou and the whole Steinbrecher family, during his visit to Germany we got to know Tom as a beautiful person. We send our heartfelt condolences and our thoughts are with you. Tom will always be in our hearts. God bless your family.
Dear Patti, Kerri, Mary, Lou and Veronica, Although we only met Tom once, he was our son's good friend and adventure buddy. Like you, there were many times I would ask Graham to text me when he was at the bottom of a mountain after touring. They had so much in common. As Father Norman said, we live in a community, Our home is always open to you. Love and Cheers, Kim and Pat Noteboom
I want to write this on behalf of a group of close friends of Tom who likely many of you hadn't even heard of. I feel ashamed that I'm writing this a couple weeks after the fact, but the truth is, I just learned about this happened today, after we hadn't heard from him in a while in our group chat where I'd been talking to Tom for the last several years. I got to know Tom initially on the website Reddit, but even more so on our off-site chat, and messaging on a sometimes daily basis. I thankfully had the chance to meet up and hang with him on a few occasions, from a couple beach trips in Rhode Island, to the most recent being while he was visiting his sister in Boston, just a couple weeks before everything shut down for COVID for the last year. I wish to paint a picture for you all of what Tom meant to me, because I feel that within the knowledge of a handful of us exists an entire side to his personality that I don't want to see fade out with him. I laughed along and enjoyed his day to day jokes and exploits, ranging back from his time as an undergrad, to navigating through the post-college life in his Volvo, which always seemed to have something wrong with it. Nonetheless, he kept it running one way or another, a trait I'm sure was instilled with him from his father. We were with him in those years of coming to terms with finally moving away from his family, and his sleepy, New England home town of North Stonington, CT, for the taller peaks in Utah. He cared deeply and spoke about you, his family, a lot, especially in those early days. The more time that passed however, the more distant those tales of family-drama became. We heard the stories of his seemingly daily adventures in the mountains, various minor surgeries, moving apartments, his ski-addict lifestyle, and his different relationships over the past 5 years. We were there for all of that, and he was there for us. As any guy can tell you, you change a whole lot from age 19 to 23, but throughout it all, Tom was shaping up to be an incredible person. We went from being perplexed (to eventually, fully understanding), as to why he'd rather take seasonal and unforgiving work as a snowmaker at Snowbird than start the long...slow slog of launching a "traditional" career in his field of business analytics. Despite being smart as hell (and I really do mean that), Tom truly prioritized experiences above all else, and seemed to inherently embrace life as a fleeting concept. Even when he did find that more lucrative full-time employment in the sporting gear industry (imagine that!), he was probably never going to turn down the next opportunity to backpack across some vast expanse of mountains, if it meant living life to its fullest. Most of all, I was always looking forward to making that long awaited trip out to Utah to spend some time with him there for myself. I feel like in our increasingly insular world, it can feel exceedingly rare to find anyone who cares about other people as much as they do for themselves, but I really did feel that way about Tom. You could talk shit for hours, but if you came to him with a problem, he'd really listen, and wasn't afraid to speak from the heart. I hope to anyone who reads this, that you can see Tom touched the lives of many more people than you may even know or imagined. We will miss you dearly.
Patti, Kerri and family, We wanted to reach out to you and let you know we still think of Tom and you guys often especially as we drive up the canyons. Also our phone # if you come out. 801-750-2663. Kim and Pat Noteboom
In Loving Memory
