Tom Theis

If you know Tom Theis, you know that he has worked in maintenance here at St. Bernard Parish for 43 years and that he is a volunteer firefighter with the Middleton Fire Department.
     But did you also know that he was a monsignor?
     Well, the local cable company thought so anyway.
     “I tried about six weeks to get them to change that billing address,” he said with a laugh. “But we finally got it switched.”
     Like most monsignors, Theis has dedicated his work to the church … our church. He started working here after school and during the summers when he was a student at Middleton High School.
     After graduating in 1976, he was offered a full-time position.
     “My boss was Monsignor (Ferdinand A.) Mack … a wonderful man to work for,” Theis said. “He was stern yet friendly.”
     Theis has worked for a total of five priests in his 43 years here.
     About seven years into this job, Theis was offered a position with the Middleton Cross Plains School District, and “if I wasn’t working for Monsignor Mack I probably would have taken the job,” he said. “It probably would have been a smart idea … benefits-wise and for retirement, but I couldn’t do it.”
     Theis said he learned a lot from Mack about kindness. “It didn’t matter if you were Catholic or not if you were in need, he would … reach out to you.”
     As a student from first through sixth grade at St. Bernard School, Theis learned a different lesson from Mack.
     “In the day, we were given demerit cards. With three demerit cards, you had to visit Monsignor Mack. You always screwed around until you had two of them, but then you buckled down until the end of the semester, because you could start clean again.
     “You didn’t want to have to see Monsignor Mack for disciplinary reasons.”
Theis also cared for the rectory and Mack’s cabin in Wabeno, Wis. “Any trip with Monsignor Mack that was more than an hour long, we would have to do a rosary. What I didn’t learn here in church or school, I learned in his car. And I had to learn the rosary all over again.”
    
 
 Bernard over the years, but Theis said one thing remains the same: the people.
“It doesn’t matter what happens in the church,” he said. “The people are always there no matter what we ask for … they are there to give. I don’t know if we are unique in that way at St. Bernard’s, but they have always been that way here.” 
The physical changes have kept Theis’ job interesting. “We went from an eight-room school house to 16 rooms. You have to adapt because of these changes.”
In addition to his maintenance duties here at church, Theis also remains active with the fire department across the street.
“That may change when I turn 60, but the fire department been great to me,” he said. “They understand I am getting older. I don’t have to do structural firefighting anymore, but ... they know I am an asset for driving the trucks.”
Theis, who has served the fire department for 37 years, said like Monsignor Mack he enjoys helping other people. In a fire, “they are running out. We are running in. It’s all about giving back to the community and helping people in need.”
Firefighting is a tradition in the Theis family. His father and two brothers were also volunteer firefighters. His oldest brother, Carl, who has served for about 40 years, still works as part of the department’s rehab team, which takes care of the firefighters during a call.
As young boys, Theis and his brothers listened for the fire whistle at city hall. “It would go off in the middle of the night, and us three boys … one would be helping dad get his boots on and the other would be starting his car for him. All he had to do was hop in the car and go. Sometimes we had to wake him up, because he didn’t hear the whistle.”
Both positions at the church and the fire department keep Theis busy. “When the whistle blows, we’ve got to get the job done,” he said. “Very seldom are there days where we have nothing to do.”
Theis said he enjoys the camaraderie of the people at both locations adding: “They have always treated me as family.”