Thomas O.P. Speidel ’55

Born May 30, 1933, in Alliance, Ohio, to Dorothy Born and Virgil Speidel, Thomas died March 31, 2016.

Coming from Alliance High School, he chose mechanical engineering as his Princeton major. He was a member of Elm Club, played 150-pound football, and roomed at 221 Brown Hall during his senior year. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton, a master’s degree from MIT, and an MBA from Boston College. Thomas lived in Bedford, Mass., and worked as a mechanical engineer.

His avocations were railroad models, history, and collecting mementos. With his wife, Sheilia, he had three children, raised them, and had an antique business.

Thomas said, “I believe Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion as expounded in his axioms or laws of motion, ‘To every action there is always an equal and contrary reaction’ … is true. If only the politicians and other would-be do-gooders would realize they can never do just one thing, the entropy of this planet might increase at a slower rate.”

Thomas is survived by Sheilia; daughter Maria; sons Thomas and John; sister Carol; two nephews; and four grandchildren.