Thomas “Tom” Ekbaum, 82, of Jackson, the self-proclaimed “luckiest man in the world,” passed away on November 23, 2025. In his final days, adoring members of Tribe Ekbaum were with Tom, paying tribute and expressing their deep love for a man who was the soul of generosity. He had a heart the size of Texas and his homeland of Estonia combined. He was an emotional anchor for years to family and friends alike. Anyone who knew Tom Ekbaum was struck by the remarkable nature of the man.
Born on May 17, 1943 in Pärnu, Estonia, Tom lived the early months of his life with his parents Juhan and Laine (Masing) Ekbaum in the Estonian town of Kilingi-Nõmme, where his father served both as a Lutheran minister and the leader of the local forces resisting the Soviet soldiers who occupied Estonia after the retreat of German forces in early 1944. As a result of his leadership role in resisting the Soviet invasion, Tom’s father Juhan was executed by the Soviets.
Prior to Juhan’s execution, Tom and his mother Laine and maternal aunt Anne were sent to Germany, where they lived in a displaced persons camp until their immigration to the States, where they took up residence in Los Angeles. Laine subsequently married Valdek Aviko, a civil engineer in Southern California. Tom was educated in the California public schools. After attending UCLA for one year, he traveled in Europe extensively, eventually taking a teaching position at the American School in Barcelona, Spain. Called back to the States by the Selective Service, he served for three years in the United States Army, stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. On June 2, 1969, at the tender age of 26, Tom made the momentous decision to marry Gretel Marguerite Seidel and her six children. Countless individuals through the years have marveled at such a remarkable (or remarkably insane!) decision on Tom’s part, but he was for 56 years a patriarch beyond compare for his beloved family tribe. No one could possibly fill his once- favored Hush Puppies shoes.
For years, Tom was a sales representative for Scientific Products, covering a variety of sales territories in Mississippi. During his time with S/P, he mentored several trainees and was repeatedly awarded for his sales prowess. Tom brought charisma and finesse to his customers, two qualities that he possessed in abundance. Shortly after the death of Gretel’s mother Loma McMillan Seidel in May 1970, she and Tom became the owners of Loma’s portion of El Rancho Doce Robles, a cattle and farm business north of Knippa, Texas in Uvalde County. Eventually renamed Terra Loma, their land became a haven for Tom, an oft-visited retreat and balm for his soul. He fell deeply in love with the land and the Frio River that forms its western boundary.
After their marriage in 1969, Tom and Gretel were active parishioners at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Jackson, but that was followed by decades of a commitment to St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church (also in Jackson), a small mission church in the Diocese of Mississippi. Tom served for years on its mission committee and as its treasurer. He and Gretel were actively involved in fundraising for the church, where Tom also served as a lay reader and Eucharistic minister. He was passionately devoted to the small church’s extraordinary singers. Through the years of his association with St. Christopher’s, Tom also took on the job of maintaining the church grounds. He would leave home with his riding mower “to mow Jesus’ grass.” In later years, Tom was the project manager for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s Villa II affordable housing apartments. Tom and Gretel were ardent theatergoers, both at Jackson’s New Stage and other venues in the City, but their passion for live theater took them to such national and international theaters as the Globe Theatre in London, the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Actors Theatre of Louisville, on- and off-Broadway productions in New York City, and the Oregon and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals. Tom was also an avid book collector as a longtime patron of John Evans’ Lemuria Book Store, Jackson’s incomparable book mecca. Tom was one of the handful of Jacksonians who could remind you that Lemuria began its life not at Highland Village, but at a tiny apartment space in The Quarter on Lakeland Drive.
Tom is survived by Gretel Ekbaum, his wife for 56 years; his brother Walter Aviko (Karen); his children, Paschal Murat Booker, Caroline Eugenia Booker Truelock, Laura Elizabeth Durham Leach (David Paul), Arthur Vernon Durham III (Kimberlye), and Julia Lee Durham Hill; his grandchildren, Hillary Williams McMillan, Meredith Williams Gerhart, Elizabeth Williams Cooley (Michael), Dustin Samuel Turner, Brandon Stephen Turner (Amber), Hannah Kathryn Garcia (Luis), Karen Marguerite Hill, Court Anthony Truelock (Katelynn), and Walden Sevart Booker; his great grandchildren, Genevieve Ruth Kelley, Andrew David Cooley, Christopher Stephan Cooley, Michael Walter Cooley, Madeline Elizabeth Gerhart, Jade Lois Williams, Jocelyn Monroe Williams, Iniko Moon Williams, Raines Lee Turner, Lawson Charles Garcia, Sutton Elizabeth Garcia, Hudson Elias Garcia, Harden Thomas Truelock, and Waelynn Kae Truelock. Tom is also survived by his cousin Robert Firth of Deepcar, Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, England and his close family friend Ted Booth of Jackson.
Tom was predeceased by his parents Juhan and Laine, his aunt Anne, his son Walter Anthony Booker, and his grandson Stephan “Steph” Thomas Williams. Others close to Tom who predeceased him were his sister-in-law Elaine Seidel Hinds, his brothers-in-law Walter Albin Seidel Jr. and Kurt Saxon Seidel (Martha), Lane Everett Redburn (Julie), Lane Everett Redburn Jr., Billy Charles Hill, Thomas Jeffery Skinner, and Michael Carnes Stephenson.
A gathering to honor and celebrate Tom’s life and his relationship with St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church will be held on December 13, 2025, at 2 p.m. at St. Christopher’s, 643 Beasley Road, Jackson Mississippi, 39206. His ashes will be laid to rest at the family cemetery plot in Sabinal, Texas. Donations may be offered in Tom’s memory to St. Christopher’s or to any of the following social services: Stewpot Community Services, Gateway Ministries, Mississippi Food Network, or Salvation Army.
