Thomas Conway Maas, 61, of Fairview passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, April 14, 2012, after a two-year battle with a brain tumor.

He was born Sept. 23, 1950, in Wausau, Wis., to Mary and Conway Maas. He married Deon (Lock) Maas on June 30, 1979, in rural Farmington. She survives.

Thomas graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh in 1973 and Chicago Kent College of Law in 1976.

He worked as an assistant state's attorney in Fulton County from 1976 to 1980. For the remainder of his law career, he was in private practice as a partner with John Potter, then as sole owner of Baudino, Potter & Maas, finally serving as "of counsel" to Froehling, Weber & Schell, LLP. Because he so loved the practice of law, he worked part time through his illness, until six weeks before his death. His primary practice was family and criminal law.

In service to his community, he taught several criminal and juvenile law classes at Spoon River College, was the former president of the Fulton County Bar Association, the Farmington Rotary, the Illinois Association of Boards of Health and the F.C.R.C Board of Directors. He was a charter member of the Fulton County CASA group, a past Cub Scoutmaster and a past board member of the Spoon River College Foundation. During his 33-year membership of the Lincoln Douglas Toastmasters, he held many offices, including division governor of District 54 Toastmasters and participated in many speech contests.

Thomas' hobbies included collecting antiques, reading, jogging, bicycling and table tennis. He ran the Chicago Marathon two times and biked across Wisconsin and Iowa. He was known for his sense of humor and his love of puns.

Also surviving are his mother, Mary of Milwaukee, Wis.; two sons, Adam (Jennifer Anzaldua) of Geneseo and Jacob of Champaign-Urbana; two grandsons, Elijah and Luke; two sisters, Patricia (Richard) Holland of Glendale, Wis., and Marikay (Tom) Concannon of Coral Springs, Fla.; and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death were his father; his brother, Roger; and his sister, Judy.

Donations may be made to the "Thomas Maas Memorial" in care of the Farmington Community Bank, 147 E. Fort St., Farmington, Ill., to help with the modernization of Providence Chapel Church.