Rev. Thomas A. Ingalls

Rev. Thomas Almont Ingalls, 81, of Goodyear, AZ, met his Heavenly Father February 24, 2025. Tom was born June 5, 1943, in Murdo, SD, to Morris H. and Mary Jane (Coye) Ingalls. He grew up in White River, SD, where his parents owned and operated The Mellette County News. In 1956, The Ingalls moved to Murdo to take over The Murdo Coyote from Morris’ sister, Lottie Betham.

Tom joined the U.S. Army at 17 and spent two years in Germany. He returned home with an honorable discharge and attended South Dakota State University. There, he met his great love, Judith (Judi) JoAnn Fargo of Gayville, SD. The couple married July 11, 1964, at the Assembly of God Church in Vermillion, SD. They lived in Murdo, where they had their son, James, the first of two children. Tom helped his father produce the Coyote before purchasing The Alexandria Herald in 1965.

He became a Christian in 1968 under the ministry of Rev. Glen Wessel at Wesleyan Methodist Church in Mitchell, SD. With Wessel’s mentorship, Tom began to speak and sing at churches statewide.

When his father died in 1969, Tom returned to Murdo to buy the Coyote from his mother and expand the business with a photography studio. During that time, Tom also pastored Presho Community Church as a layman. That led him to return to school in 1980 to earn a theology degree from Bartlesville Wesleyan College in Oklahoma.

In 1985, the Ingalls moved to Phoenix, AZ, where Tom pastored various congregations. Tom became a chaplain at a Good Samaritan Society retirement home in 2003, a position he held for a decade. He enjoyed baking, woodworking, riding motorcycles with his son, traveling with Judi and daughter Laura, and cherishing his grandchildren. But his greatest joy was serving his risen savior, Jesus Christ.

Tom is survived by his wife, Judi; daughter Laura (Nicholas) Fuqua; son James (Stacy) Ingalls; grandchildren Corbin, Derek, and Anstance Ingalls; brothers-in-law Don (Beulah) Anderson, Alec (Lois) Solberg, and sisters-in-law Mary Jensen and Eunice Montgomery. He was preceded in death by his parents Morris H. and Mary Jane (Coye) Ingalls; brother Larry Ingalls; and brothers-in-law John Fargo, Nels Jensen, and Dale Montgomery.