18 MAY 2026 T here are coincidences, and then there’s the unexplainable. As a youngster, Tom Kirkegaard always wondered how he wound up with his difficult-to- pronounce last name (kirk-guard). When he got older, he decided to investigate and went right to the source, asking his mom what gives. Turns out Tom’s grandfather was a longtime caretaker for a church cemetery in Vester Hassing, Denmark. The Danish name literally means “church yard,” so it turns out that the person was one and the same with the profession. Tom grew up in an ardent Catholic family with three brothers, a sister, and a loving and watchful mother. It was a given that he and his siblings would grow up under a Catholic doctrine and education. Tom graduated from the former parochial Gerard High School where he played on the 1980 state championship football team. His older brother also won a championship there. “I have to say, me and my brothers were pretty good athletes,” Tom said with unmistakable pride. After high school, Tom played football and ran track at Scottsdale Community College, but the classroom quickly became an obstacle that he couldn’t clear. “I wasn’t very interested in school, so I quit. I just didn’t want to waste my dad’s money,” he admits. Shortly thereafter, he started Camelback Landscape and Maintenance and 40 years later the commercial landscaping business is still going strong. “When I was eight, my dad made my brother and me go to work landscaping yards. In high school I trimmed palm trees for $20 a tree and I thought I was rich,” he laughed. “I didn’t really care for the work but it taught me how to work hard, and it’s been a good business. I enjoy it and especially my clients.” Tom’s real passion is football – and more specifically, coaching. He began coaching Pop Warner football when his son, Colby, was six and continued coaching him until he graduated from Arcadia High School with All-City and State honors. “It was stressful trying to call the right plays at the right time, more stressful than running a business,” he said. “But I loved coaching and had a special bond with my players. I still see some of them today.” Tom bought a house in Arcadia when he was 26 and has never left. These days he splits his time between work, his three grandchildren and looking out for his 92-year-old mother. “I talk to her most every day and take her to breakfast on Sundays. I also enjoy time with my son and my daughter, Jordan,” he said. Asked about retirement and he frowns. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop working because I like it. And who knows, if I was asked, I might be tempted to coach again.” Tom becomes introspective when thinking about relationships. “It’s important we appreciate people for who they are, and not necessarily for what they do. I stay in touch with 18 of my high school buddies and we meet up once a year. One guy drives a UPS truck, another is CEO of a corporation. All the same as they’re just my friends,” he said. Ask around and anyone who knows Tom will tell you he’s the real deal. And that’s no coincidence. Tom Kirkegaard It’s important we appreciate people for who they are. High Place 1/2 H