Charles "Tommy" Thomas Bare III

Charles “Tommy” Thomas Bare III, age 56, born and raised in Altoona, unexpectedly, but peacefully passed away early Saturday morning in his loving home. He is survived by his loving wife, Dawn Michele (Covert) Bare and his beloved children: Allison Taylor, Emily Elizabeth, and Bradley Thomas Bare. Tommy is also survived by his sisters: Theresa “Sissy” Livoti and Mary Louise “Murry” Orr. He was preceded in death by his father, Charles T. Bare Jr., and his mother, Sandra (Giardino) Bare. He is also preceded in death by his uncle, John Giardino, his aunt, Lucia Giardino, his grandmother, Ida Marie Powell, and brother-in-law, Carl Orr.

He will also be remembered by many others to include his mother-law, sisters/brothers-in-law, uncle, cousins, and many nieces and nephews. Tommy will also be missed by his beloved pets, Ruby, Bean and Ivy.

Tommy was a dedicated worker at Fiore Toyota as a business/finance manager. He was a 1986 graduate of Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School.

He was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parrish.

Above all, Tommy cared about spending time with his family. He wanted nothing more than to relax at home with his wife, children, and animals watching sitcoms or movies. He also had a passion for cooking for his family and following Steelers football. Tommy was the ultimate family man, and was often described as funny, patient, handsome, goofy, hardworking, and content to name a few.

In remembrance of Tommy Bare, those who wish may make contributions to the Central PA Humane Society, 1837 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd Altoona PA 16602.

He will be dearly missed and remembered by many.

Friends will be received from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, at Santella Funeral Home, where a vigil for the deceased will be held. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 1, 2024, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.

From Dawn:
Tommy lived his 20,126 days, just the way he wanted to- loving and providing for his family. Nothing else mattered to him, including nothing FOR him. He led such a selfless life through great character and humility. His words were always infused with just a hint of his quick wit and silly sarcasm. We all know that ability he had to tease and have fun (in the smallest of ways), and sadly these memories are now in the past. But in emulating his positive outlook and his positive character, we will never lose those days, those days that we chose to spend with him, as life around us goes on I know many have witnessed and experienced love before, but I would like to take a few moments to share ours. Our gift of true love, that I’ve probably already shared a million times over. It may sound odd in today’s world, but I was so very young (16 to be exact) when my daily prayers were answered...prayers that I find my best friend, my partner, a man to walk this life journey with. We made a great team, built a friendship, became partners in love knowing every single detail to each other’s lives. We had something so unique and special. When our team grew to a squad of 5, we knew this love to be even greater...growing together, loving together, bonded forever through eternity. I knew, we all knew, God blessed us with what I can only call a superhuman! But more realistically, at the head of this family was a true family man! That’s it! What you see is what you get and nothing more or less. When I looked through my eyes at him, I saw Saint Joseph because he exuded so many qualities of him: his selflessness to and for his family, his hard work ethic to his vocation, and his simplistic nature to want nothing but to humbly walk this Earth, making everyone in his presence happy. Not one word was ever heard or spoken about Tommy in any negative fashion...well, maybe from me behind our closed doors when we would bicker...like just the other day on a walk with our dogs. But honestly, we never fought. He never got mad, and if he did in these almost 40 years, he never let me see it. Not one fight or argument that would raise his voice. Because as he would tell me while holding his hand low and flat in the air “Dawn I live down here!” Such a calm demeanor who practiced the pause before responding to anyone. He was the most intelligent of us all! He was the one who got it right in the way to be more like Jesus, and the Holy family that was built!

I will miss you with all my heart, until we meet again in Heaven.

Prayer for the Dead Deceased and Dearly Missed to Padre Pio
If you love me don’t cry!
If you knew the immense mystery, of the sky where I now live, if you could see and hear what I
see and hear in these endless horizons, and in this light that invests and penetrates everything,
you wouldn’t cry if you love me. Here we are now absorbed by the enchantment of God, by her
expressions of infinite goodness, and by the reflections of his boundless beauty. The things of
the past are so small and fleeting in comparison. I still have my affection for you: a tenderness
that I have never known. I am happy to have met you over time, even if everything was then so
fleeting and limited.
Now the love that holds me deeply to you, is pure joy without sunset. While I live in the serene
and exhilarating expectation of your arrival among us, you think of me so! In your battles, in

your moments of despair and loneliness, think of this wonderful house, where there is no
death, where we will quench our thirst together, in the most intense transport to the
inexhaustible source of love and happiness. Don’t cry anymore, if you really love me!
Saint Augustine does not ask those who remain on Earth to suffocate the pain, but to transform
it. He invites us to believe in life after death, to imagine a parallel world shaped by light and
love. To try with the eyes of the soul to see this invisible world. It is the very soul of those who
left us to ask us not to cry. To show us the serenity of the place where he landed, to feel its
peace, its quiet, its serenity. If it is really love that binds us to our deceased loved one, we must
rejoice in his transformation.

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