Thomas Arthur Chiki

Thomas Arthur Chiki, 74, of Galloway, formerly of Athens, passed away June 16, 2022 at Crown Pointe Care Center in Columbus after suffering 53 years of pain from being severely wounded in the Vietnam War and more recently from dementia. For most of those 53 years, he never complained about his pain and tried his best to live a normal life. We know in our hearts that he is now in a better place and that he is rejoicing on the streets of Gold in Heaven with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom he dearly loved. Born May 14, 1948, in Athens, he was the son of the late Arthur and JoAnn Chiki. He graduated from Athens High School in 1966, where he was a member of the golf team. Tom was drafted into the US Army in August, 1968, deployed to Vietnam in January, 1969 and was wounded on June 1, 1969. He received the Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Badge. Tom was medically retired from the Army in 1970. After coming home from Vietnam, he attended Hocking College and Ohio University. He held life memberships in the American Legion Post 21, VFW Post 3477, Amvets Post 76, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and DAV. He was a member of Americal Division Veterans Association, in addition to Vineyard Church in Columbus and Vineyard Bible Study Group. He was a former member of the New Life Assembly Church and the Athens Country Club. He loved golf and was a big fan of the Cincinnati Reds (he loved Pete Rose), Cincinnati Bengals and Ohio State football. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Antoline Mayes; two sons, Thomas Brian Chiki of Columbus and Douglas Lee Chiki of Atlanta, Georgia; three brothers, Randy (Sue) Chiki of Hilliard, Steve (Linda) Chiki of Athens and Jeff (Nancy) Chiki of Athens; two step sons, Sean (Helena) Wooten of Columbus and Seth (Yalonda) Wooten of Columbus; and many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, Ron Chiki. Services will be Thursday, June 23, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Hughes-Moquin Funeral Home with Rev John Palmer officiating. Burial will be in Athens Memory Gardens, where military services will be conducted by the US Army, the Athens American Legion Post 21 and Albany VFW Post 9893 honor/color guard. Funeral service will be live-streamed via Facebook Live at www.facebook.com/hughesmoquin. Friends may call at the funeral home, Wednesday from 5PM to 8PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6001. You may send a message of sympathy to the family at www.hughesmoquinfuneralhome.com.