Thomas Imbler

Thomas Arnold Imbler, age 60, left this world on November 29, 2022.

Thomas was born January 30, 1962 in Wichita, KS, the son of Vincent and Marjorie Imbler . He leaves behind his wife, Anita, their son, David, and their daughter, Laura . He is also survived by several siblings Stephen, Sue, Mike, Jim, and Jean, along with brother and sister-in-laws, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who he considered family.

He graduated from Heights High School in Wichita, Ks in 1980 and went on to complete a BS in Mechanical Engineering in 1986 at Wichita State University, and an MBA at Washburn University, Topeka, Ks in 1998. He started working in the electric industry for K,G&E, Wichita, Ks while attending Wichita State University, then later took a position with Western Resources, Inc. in Topeka, KS. He held professional organization positions as Director, Western Electric Coordination Council (WECC) and Executive Committee, Western Systems Power Pool (WSPP).

In Tom's long career, over 30 years, in the energy industry he developed a deep understanding of electric grid operations and developed a team that was considered the "best of breed" in integrating renewable resources. His ambition was to improve the environmental footprint. He, and his family moved to Colorado, when he took the position of Manager, Energy Trading at Xcel Energy, Inc. in 1998. He spent the next 6 years working his way up in the company to Vice President, Commercial Operations in 2004. As Vice President, he was responsible for all wholesale transactions in the energy space. His team contained roughly 115 professional employees, most of whom were highly educated and specialized. His emphasis was on renewable energy during his last 10 years, with Xcel, before retiring in April 2020. Tom has been described by co-workers, and team members, as a "leader of the people," who always had a warm smile and was quick to lighten the workplace with a good joke. He truly respected his team and valued having a relationship with them, and their families, not only at work, but on a personal level. During his time in the energy industry, he also developed close relationships with many of his partner companies, throughout the United States and Canada as well.

Tom's love of knowledge was insatiable as was his love of history, world travel, spending time in the mountains hiking and skiing, cooking, and making as close as possible to what his siblings called, "Tier 1 Fudge" for the holidays. But, most importantly, was his love of, and time spent with his wife, children, family, and friends.

Tom's brother's and sister's always spoke of what they called, "The Tom Life," which only he could ever achieve. It was due to the fact that everything always came so easy to him, and that luck seemed to follow him through every aspect of his life and experiences. He was always a true optimist, and we will never forget his ability to try to find the "silver lining" during even the darkest of times.

Tom was an organ donor and two peoples lives have been saved by his beautiful, and generous, donations.

He will long be remembered as a loyal and loving husband, father, brother, and uncle with a fun sense of humor and a big heart. Though Tom was taken far too early in life, we know there must be a reason that he was meant to die "forever young."

There will be a private "Celebration of Life" for immediate family on January 14, 2023. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the "National Parks Conservation Association ( npca.org )" and/or the "Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver ( bgcmd.org )."