Thomas C. Campbell Jr.

Thomas "Tommy" Campbell, Jr. of Colonie, NY, passed peacefully on September 8, 2021.after bravely fighting neuroendocrine cancer for four years.

Tommy was born to Lillian and Thomas Campbell on January, 26, 1978 in Troy, NY, and grew up on Van Schaick Island in Cohoes with his brother, Marsino, and sister, Brenda and surrounded by many very close aunts, uncles and cousins.

Tommy leaves behind his wife, Christine, sons Aiden (16) and Ryan (12), his parents, Thomas and Lillian (LePage), his brother Marsino (Noelle) Zandri and sister Brenda (Shawn) Lynch, parents-in-law Mark and Michelle Sollohub, brothers-in-law Michael (Kristen) Sollohub and Mark (Diana) Sollohub and nieces and nephews Marsino, Ethan, Eva, Noah and Sloane. Family was the cornerstone of Tommy's existence -- he loved his people hard, and would drop everything in a heartbeat to help out a family member in need.

Tommy was a machinist by trade, which began as a student at HVCC, and over the years had worked in several different companies with increasing expertise and responsibilities. He most recently worked at GE as a CNC Programmer. He loved the outdoors, and enjoyed hiking and camping with his family, kayaking with the boys and gardening. He had a very analytical mind, and would always be quick to tackle a puzzle, problem or project, working at it tirelessly until it was solved to perfection.

The biggest challenge of his life came to light in early September, 2017, when he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer. While this was classified as an incurable type of cancer, it was also very treatable. Tommy received monthly treatment injections, and would go with Christine every several months to get treatments he would call "tune-ups" at Memorial Sloane Kettering in New York City. He was determined to make whatever time he had left on earth as full as possible, tackling more projects and adventures as the years went on. He moved through life valiantly, with many of the people around him remaining unaware of his diagnosis. He worked through the problem, as he always did, and prevailed.

In October of 2020, during one of his "tune-up" treatments, Tommy suffered a spinal stroke, leaving him a paraplegic. Knocked down, yes, but undaunted, he powered through his inpatient physical therapy at Sunnyview Hospital and was quickly labeled a "rock star" by his therapy team. He was an inspiration to so many, and Christine would glow with tears of pride as he would walk through Sunnyview's halls with the assistance of their robot exoskeleton during his outpatient sessions.

His cancer, however, had other ideas and became aggressive, and weakened him more quickly than he or his family could have imagined. Tommy fought until the very end, determined to get back home to Christine, Aiden and Ryan, and hanging on dearly to that 1 percent chance of survival.

A memorial service will be held at Newcomer Funeral Home, 343 New Karner Road, Colonie, NY 12205 on Friday, September 10, from 4:00pm-6:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation.