Thomas Blaine Opatken

Thomas Blaine Opatken of Austintown, let go of his suffering on July 24, 2022, surrounded by his family, after a nine month struggle with cancer. He was 62 years old, the youngest (and cutest) of the five kids of William and Gloria Opatken. Born in Massillon and bestowed with the mini football that newborn boys received, his passion for sports, especially football, continued throughout his life.

Tom graduated from Austintown Fitch High School. While playing defense for the Falcons, he was known as Mean Bird. He continued his education and 1 year of football at Baldwin Wallace College, but wasn’t the college type. Working was his thing. He was a hustler. He loved cleaning carpets, which is what he did for a living. He and his partner at Multi-Kleen were hard working and in demand, Scotch-Guarding as their final step.

He and his late wife, Sincearae, are survived by four children: Thomas (Hannah), Heather (Jeff) Easterday, Blaine (Hannah), and Lynsey Opatken, all very much grieving the loss of their father. He was a generous father.Toms’ great loves were his grandkids, all 14 of them. His family, his good buddy, Tom V. and the Beast (Milwaukee’s Best Ice) summed up his daily life. AND the Cleveland Browns. He knew most of what there is to know about the Browns...there was no bigger fan than Tom Opatken. Multiple T.V.s were always on in his space and The Rolling Stones, Leonard Skynyrd and Y103 provided the soundtrack. He often had music in his pocket – cell phone on radio station while he cut the grass or watched grandkids playing.
He was good at conversation, always beginning with his signature greeting, “Sup.”
And at the end there was always, “I’ll talk to ya.”

Friends and family are to gather in Tom’s memory on Friday, July 29, 2022 at Kiwanis Pavillion in Austintown Township Park from 4:00- 8:00.