Obituary of Thomas "Tom" G. Prigge

Thomas G Prigge, 50, of Cambridge, Minnesota passed away on April 12, 2015 at his home in Cambridge. Tom was born in Rochester, Minnesota to Kenneth and Dorothy Prigge on July 28, 1964. He went to school in Owatonna, Minnesota and then Bemidji, Minnesota after his family moved to Bemidji when he was nine years old. Tom graduated from Bemidji High School in 1982. Tom’s family enjoyed playing outside and riding bike with his brother, Jim, and sister, Ellen, as a child. He enjoyed taking trips up north while they lived in Owatonna. His Dad would take the kids in the boat to fish and they would swim and play on the beach together. As a boy, he and his Dad built a golf course together in the yard. He loved dogs his whole life and was a very shy child. He would stand hiding behind his dad’s leg and look to his older sister, Ellen to answer any questions that anyone asked him. Tom began his sales career at a very early age. He would beg his siblings for their things until they would finally give in and then he would have it sold within minutes. He sold everything he could get his hands on. It drove them crazy, but they agreed that he was very good at it, even then. Tom had a job as soon as he could find someone to pay him do anything. He worked hard from a very early age. He worked in the restaurant business with Perkin’s, Hardee’s and Burger King and became a manager, which eventually brought him to Arizona. He didn't like the big city with helicopters flying around at night with their search lights on so he came back to Bemidji and began a career with Henry’s Foods (or the “Treat Job” as Hannah called it then). He enjoyed working with Henry’s Foods for several years, travelling all over northern Minnesota taking care of customers. He met Karen Gutterud at the Henry’s Food Show in September of 1993. They were engaged in December and married the following year. Tom and Karen had two daughters, Hannah(20) and Haley(16). Tom was very proud of his girls and even though he wanted to teach them to work for whatever they wanted, he loved bringing things home that he thought they would like. Tom loved camping and boating with Karen and the girls and had a different camper or water craft every year. He didn't store anything in his immaculate garage for long and seemed to enjoy buying and selling recreational things more than actually using them. He liked to say that he camped for free because he always made money on the toys he purchased. Tom began his career in car sales at Bob Lowth Ford, Bemidji in 1999. He found that he enjoyed his job so much that he even spent his days off at work. Tom left Bemidji with his family in 2006 to work with his friend, Jeff Hayford in Cambridge. His family was not very happy at the time, but Tom made a great life for them in Cambridge, too. He loved his work and it became his recreation, too. He truly loved matching people with what he thought they needed. He also enjoyed taking care of his lawn and his garage. Many people admired his perfect lawn and spotless garage, which made him very proud. He was a salesman at Hayford Ford and then at John Hirsch’s Cambridge Motors until he became a manager at Hayford Ford. He was a manager that taught by example as he cared about every detail when it came to taking care of customers. It was important to him that everyone was happy. If he ever thought a customer was unhappy he worked very hard to make it right. Tom worked with Jeff until November of 2014. He would have worked longer, but he felt he made everyone sad by being there once he learned that his cancer would not be cured. He was diagnosed in January of 2014 and he never spent one single day allowing the cancer to beat him. After deciding to leave his job, Tom spent his final months working every day to prepare Karen, Hannah and Haley to continue on without him. He had projects every day that he could to teach them how to take care of the garage and the house and many other good life lessons. He wasn't satisfied until he knew they each had a dependable car and a home that three girls could manage alone. In his final days, Tom prayed that the Lord would prepare him and his girls. Tom passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, April 12 after his courageous battle with cancer. Tom was preceded in death by his grandparents Gerhard and Stella Kvamme, Hugo and Lena Prigge, his uncles Larry Prigge, David Miller, and Don Prigge and his aunt Phyllis Greseth. Tom leaves behind his wife, Karen (Gutterud), daughters Hannah and Haley of Cambridge, his parents Kenneth & Dorothy Prigge of Bemidji, brother Jim Prigge of Bemidji, sister Ellen (Duane) Sheehan of Kenai, AK; his in-laws Lyle & Cathy Gutterud of Lengby, MN; David (Gina) Gutterud of Stillwater, Diane (Mike) Sundrud of Fosston, Kristi (Jeremy) Mienert of Fosston, Dan (Nikki) of Fosston; several nieces and nephews Amber (Alex) Sweeney, Ashley(Ben) Slater, Ostan Sundrud, Kendra Sundrud, Chelsey Mienert, Tristan Mienert, Anjali Gutterud, Jacob Gutterud, Aaron Gutterud, Reid Gutterud and Shane Gutterud as well as four great nieces Paige, Ellyson, Katia and Gwyneth and one great nephew, Gavin; many aunts, uncles, and cousins who he adored, as well as his ‘adopted’ Cambridge family Loren, Deb, Justine, Grant, Maddie & Nate Larson. Tom also leaves behind many co-workers, customers and friends who he grew very close to and considered his family. <iframe id="tukios_player_512x330" allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="330" scrolling="no" src="https://www.tributeslides.com/videos/embedded_video/N5CMLRXT7WBX3NGL" width="512"></iframe>