Thomas Jefferson Overbeck, 17 of Dieterich, passed away at 4:05 p.m. Monday, December 8, 2014.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 13, 2014 at Southside Baptist Church, located on Veterans Drive in Effingham. Visitation will be held from noon until time of service, Saturday at the church. His family has requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the donor's choice. Bauer Funeral Home in Effingham is assisting the family with arrangements. www.bauerfh.com

Thomas was born February 15, 1997 in Effingham, the son of Jeffery and Debra (Neal) Overbeck.

He was a wonderful son and brother and loved to make people laugh. Thomas was an aspiring actor and an ardent liberal Democrat; he couldn't wait to come of age so he would be able to vote. He loved history, was interested in foreign languages and planned to visit Germany and Greece. His favorite pastime was watching movies and his favorite TV series, The Walking Dead . Thomas listened to a broad range of music, but his favorite was by the German band, Rammstein. He was also an avid gamer. Thomas recently started working at Martin's IGA and really enjoyed his job and his co-workers. Thomas was junior at Dieterich High school, where he was a member of the drama club, on the baseball team and had also played on the basketball team.

Thomas is survived by his parents, Jeff and Debbie Overbeck of Dieterich; four sisters, Jennifer Lewis, Amber (Philip) Quance, Shelley Scott and Jasmine Watson; his grandmothers, Margaret "Maggie" Overbeck of Teutopolis and Mary Hutton of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; three nephews, three nieces, two great-nephews and several aunts, uncles and cousins also survive.

Thomas was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Thomas Overbeck and Jerry Hutton.