Tom died suddenly in his sleep March 11, 2013, at his home in Kamas, Utah, from pulmonary emboli.

Tom was born in Boston and came to Princeton from St. Mark’s School in Massachusetts. He majored in astrophysics and mathematics at Princeton, roomed with James Machin in Campbell and later with Tom Collins ’72, and was a member of Cloister Inn and finally Colonial Club, where he was a backgammon whiz. He participated in 150-lb. football and club hockey.

Tom took a year away from Princeton junior year to attend USC film school. After graduating from Princeton he was in the movie biz as a self-styled “filmaker,” per his unique business card (see below). Spelling was not his strong point. Tom lived in the Salt Lake area for many years working on movies, then in Connecticut taking care of his mother, and then back in Utah in the mountains, producing independent films. He loved wilderness areas, especially rivers and deserts. His vehicles’ license plates were RIVRAT and DESRAT. He worked as a river guide in Moab, Utah, on the Colorado River volunteering for Splore (www.splore.org), which provides accessible outdoor adventures for special needs people.

To say that Tom was a unique person is an understatement. His idiosyncrasies, quirks, eccentricities, gentlemanly manner, generosity, and ability to coin phrases (“Whartonisms”) were what made him so endearing to those who loved him. In the words of Sam Boehm ’71, who died in 2011, “We were all truly blessed to have Tom Wharton in our lives.” There are more Whart stories than one could ever count.

He was related to Thomas Wharton Jr., first president of Pennsylvania, and was the last of the direct line descending from him. He was also related to Joseph Wharton, who founded the Wharton School at Penn; Edith Wharton (through marriage), writer; and Eleanor Roosevelt, who was a cousin of and very close to Tom’s mother (she stayed at the White House many times).

He is survived by his sisters, Stephanie Holbrook of San Francisco, Calif.. and Lucie Wharton of Santa Rosa, Calif.; nieces Tania Holbrook and her husband, Bruce Croft, of Kamas, Utah, and Sandy Holbrook and her husband, Geoffrey James of Sausalito, Calif.; and great nieces Daphne and Lucie James. The class extends sympathy to his family and friends.

Undergraduate Class of 1971