At Princeton he earned a bachelor’s degree in basic engineering, sang in the Chapel choir, was a member of Cottage Club, captain of freshman and varsity crews, and served as battalion commander of NROTC. A proud Marine, he served in Korea for three years, and after receiving three Korean Conflict Medal Stars, was discharged as a captain.
After Harvard Law School, Tom began a 50-year career as a patent lawyer. For years he was with Kenyon & Kenyon in New York and later was associated with ITT as staff patent attorney. He next went into private practice as a patent, copyright, and trademark attorney in intellectual property, retiring in 2001.
In 1951, Tom and Jean MacKennan (Bob MacKennan’s sister) were married. They became the parents of four sons.
Tom died of pancreatic cancer May 28, 2008, in Morristown, N.J. His brothers and sisters and his son Peter predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, the former Barbara Pampinella, whom he married in 1978; sons T. Matthew ’78, David W., and Robert J.; stepson Steven Paul Strazza; stepdaughter Janus Strazza; 13 grandchildren; and by his niece, Elizabeth B. Marshall-Beasley ’81.