Thomas Francis O'Keefe, III   (May 6, 1984 - July 4, 2015)

Our friend and teammate Tommy O'Keefe has lost his brave battle with Glioblastoma multiform, which is an aggressive malignant brain tumor. Tommy lost his battle on Saturday July 4th 2015.  First diagnosed back in 2007, he was in remission for many years, however, the tumors came back in January and since then he’s been in and out of hospitals at least ten times.  Tommy is survived by lovely wife Jessica, and their beautiful 10 month old baby daughter McKenzie.

Deputy O’Keefe was a third-generation law enforcement officer who followed in the career footsteps of his father and grandfather. He started working for BSO in 2003 at age 19. During his career, he served in the Tamarac, Deerfield Beach and Dania Beach districts. He also worked in multiple units in BSO’s Strategic Investigations Division.

Originally from South Florida, Jessica and Tommy both met when she was 15 and he was 16. He went to Western High School in Davie and she went to Flanagan in Pembroke Pines. They eventually moved to Coral Springs from Tamarac when they bought a single family home in 2011, the same year they were married.  They welcomed their daughter Mckenzie in 2014.

In addition to his wife and child, Deputy O’Keefe is survived by his parents, retired Officer Thomas O’Keefe, Sr. and Mrs. Leslie O’Keefe, brothers Andy and Sean, Grandmother Evelyn White and in-laws Dave & Lynda Lasry

“He was a fighter,” Jessica O’Keefe said. “He fought this for so many years and never complained. He was very easygoing, very positive, and he loved his family.”

Tommy was a dedicated husband, caring father, loving son, and role model for his two younger brothers.  He was an avid listener of rock music and had an insatiable sweet tooth.  He was also an avid fan of the "Mountain Melt" from the Ale house where him and his teammates would go to celebrate a big victory.  Tommy loved sports, especially baseball/softball and enjoyed going to Dolphins, Marlins and Heat games.

On the Softball side, Tommy joined the South Beach organization for the Spring of 2012 when he was acquired in the supplemental draft following the folding of the Media Men and Dirtbags teams.  O'Keefe the lefty outfielder played for the All-Stars for 8 seasons and had a career batting ave of .545, which is good for 5th all-time.  He also has added 1 HR, 6 doubles, 14 triples (good for 3rd all-time) and 63 RBI (good for 17th all time) to his resume.  

Tommy was also a 2 time team MVP winning the award in the Summer 2012 and Fall of 2013.  His last game for the team was on June 1st 2014 when he went 1-3 with a triple, 2 runs and 1 RBI.  Even until the end, the team was always on his mind.  He would text each week to see how the team was doing and tried many times to make it out to a game.  Up until the final 2 weeks Tommy was saying he was  ready to get back out there and play.  Unfortunately he would never make it back to the field...

 Tommy was a valuable player for the team on and off the field and was known for his sarcastic sense of humor and wit.  He will be sadly missed, but not forgotten.

#4 in the program, #1 in our hearts.   R.I.P Tommy!

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the American Brain Tumor Association, 8550 West Bryn Mawr Ave., Suite 550, Chicago, IL 60631.  or www.abta.org 

For pictures and video of Tommy click on the photo album:

http://www.leaguelineup.com/photoalbum.asp?url=feuer&sid=347610022&photocatid=317494 

Tommy's Official Stat Page: 

http://www.leaguelineup.com/player_baseball.asp?url=feuer&playerid=7854451&teamid=1651568 

 To help out his family and daughter, please contribute to the "Tommy O'keefe Fund":

GoFundMe account (www.gofundme.com/tommyokeefefund)