Thomas Franklin Spoehr ’47

Tom died Feb. 5, 2002, of pancreatic cancer in his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., home. His final struggle reflected the spirit of his 76 years, defined at age 10 after an explosion resulted in months of hospitalization, 105 transfusions, and the loss of his left leg.

A Chicago native, Tom developed great upper-body strength, swimming at New Trier HS and Princeton. He taught hundreds of kids to swim, then raised morale of WWII amputees by demonstrating his mobility.

A popular leader, Tom was class president for three years at Princeton, undergraduate council chair, and Tiger Inn head honcho, plus our first president post-graduation.

Visionary Tom coupled engineering with his fascination for aviation, dedicating 35 years to Voi-Shan Industries, the largest manufacturer of aerospace fasteners. He rose to become VSI president in 1980. He was active on and off the links at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club since 1990.

Our heartfelt condolences to Marjory, his wife of 30 years, as well as brothers David '48 and Peter, and 25 descendants.

The Class of 1947