As one of the original stars of “Mountain Men”, Tom Oar has become a staple of the show for his good-humored, yet tough personality, hard-working ethic, and philosophy of life. Season after season, “Mountain Men” audiences have seen him dealing with the struggles of a life off the grid in the north side of Montana, alongside his equally skillful and strong wife Nancy.
Despite his undeniable toughness, seasons 11 and 12 of the show have seen Tom Oar facing some health challenges which have resulted in a decrease in his TV appearances. Nevertheless, Tom is not only doing fine these days, but also hasn’t left “Mountain Men” at all, much to the relief of his fans.
However, have you wondered what the future of Tom in “Mountain Men” is, and whether he might be close to retiring? Keep watching to find out!
Is Tom Quitting The Show?
As far as is known, Tom Oar is not quitting “Mountain Men” any time soon, but unsurprisingly, his fans have been worrying about his permanency in the show for a while.
Back in the 11th season, Tom had a heart-related health scare, waking one night admitting that he was finding it difficult to ‘catch his breath’. Doctors found that Tom’s heart wasn’t ‘pumping the fluids out enough’, meaning that his lungs were also affected as a result. Besides the heart-strengthening medication he had to take, Tom wore a monitor to keep his doctor aware of any minor inconvenience or changes in his heart rate which might occur. As explained by Nancy, he also wore a defibrillator vest set to ‘shock him back into rhythm’, in case his heart would quit.
He recovered well, but the fact that Tom was advised to ‘slow down’ his lifestyle had viewers theorizing that he might be retiring from his off-the-grid ways sooner than later.
That wasn’t the first time that people assumed that Tom would possibly be leaving the show, though. Back in 2013 he and Nancy were already considering moving with their children to Ocala, Florida, but in the end, chose to stay in their Yaak River Valley cabin instead.
Fast forward to 2023, the 12th season of “Mountain Men” which had Tom celebrating his 80th birthday, looking as energetic as ever while helping a friend set up a tepee before heading to a birthday party prepared by Nancy.
To date, it’s yet unknown whether a 13th season of “Mountain Men” will premiere, but everyone surely wants to keep seeing Tom on TV for many more seasons.
Is Tom Quitting The Show?
Medication and devices weren’t the only things Tom needed to improve his health, as he was also advised to not strain himself with everyday tasks, to the point he couldn’t cut wood or use his snowmobile given the risks that he could face any inconvenience and suffer a heart attack in the process.
Thankfully, Nancy was more than ready to take over the most strenuous of his tasks, yet Tom described the situation as an ‘eye opener’ about his lifestyle, yet he was more than determined to keep doing what he loved.
Why Was Tom Retiring?
Long-time viewers of “Mountain Men” surely remember that Tom Oar contemplated retiring from his mountain life in the second season, back when a particularly fierce winter was knocking at his door.
The overwhelmingly cold weather of Montana’s mountains was a huge contrast to the warm climate of Florida, where their children lived. As seen in the show, Tom and Nancy had recently visited their kids on the peninsular coast to ‘put them at ease’, given how they had worried about the challenges that the couple faced daily in their Yaak River cabin.
As their son Chad told the news site Ocala.com, the things he was most concerned about were the dangerous animals surrounding the area where his parents lived, and the huge distance between their cabin and the nearest town, which was about 50 miles or 80kms away.
While Tom was aware of his children’s worries, he wasn’t ecstatic about leaving his mountain life to live in Florida. As he told Ocala.com, the concept of simply sitting on a porch to read a newspaper while not working anymore didn’t sound too thrilling for him, so postponing any desire to retire he might have.
In the end, Tom and Nancy returned to Montana, and safely overcame the winter, making it clear that they wouldn’t be quitting their beloved lifestyle any time soon.
What is Tom Doing Now?
Tom Oar has always been an adventurous and busy man. Born in Rockford, Illinois, Tom grew used to the wonders of life outdoors from an early age, mastering the not-so-common art of trick riding thanks to his father, who was a ‘real horseman’, as Tom described him in an interview with City Lifestyle.
His early love for doing tricks while riding a horse developed into a career of professional rodeo riding in his late teens, reaching the highest point of his riding career in the 1960s when he was part of the International Rodeo Association.
After suffering a life–threatening accident while riding a bull, and unable to take his career any further after that, Tom and Nancy moved to the mountains of Montana in the early 1980s. That new home saw the pair hunting and trapping to eat for the first time in their lives, also making some money out of brain tanning and fur selling.
While it took Tom a while to master the old art of crafting buckskin wear pieces, he’s been making a living out of it for several decades now. As seen in many episodes of “Mountain Men”, the numerous crafting talents of Tom play a huge role in his off-the-grid lifestyle – some say survival – regardless of his age and health issues. That’s also one of the reasons viewers can’t help but love him.