Thomas J. Castor passed away May 16th with his loving wife, Louise Wilkinson, at his side. Tom was a very young 75 year-old, and ultimately lost an intense battle with lymphoma. He leaves behind three children: Brandon Coats, Daylin Davidson and Chris Baldi; two brothers: Jack Castor and David Castor; nine wonderful grandchildren, and one very special dog, Sophie.

Tom was born on Feb. 13, 1939 in Reading, PA. He graduated from Boyertown Area High School and served in the Navy as an aircraft mechanic on the carrier, the USS Saratoga. He received his B.A. from Southern Illinois University and did graduate studies in psychology at Michigan State. He began his computer system design career at Lockheed in the Bay area, eventually specializing in criminal justice systems. According to his longtime friend and colleague, Paul Wormeli, Tom was a “brilliant” computer software designer and author of “the world’s greatest proposals and user manuals.” In 1974 his job moved him to Northern Virginia where he met, fell in love with, and married Louise. He helped raise her two children, Brandon and Daylin, as if they were his own. In 1985, Tom and his new family moved to Mercer Island, WA, to be closer to Louise’s family. After retirement, Tom was active in the Mercer Island Rotary Club, The East Shore Unitarian Church, and Ghana Together – a nonprofit dedicated to educating children in Axim, Ghana. He loved family, cooking, music and travel.

Within the last few months, much to his delight, Tom reunited with his son, Chris. Though Chris lives in New Zealand, they spent some intimate fun times establishing a special father-son bond. Tom was also pleased to see his beloved Seattle Seahawks finally become World Champions. Tom is greatly missed and will never be forgotten by all who love him.

A celebration of life will be held at the East Shore Unitarian Church at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, May 31st. In lieu of flowers, he and the family would appreciate donations to Ghana Together, East Shore Unitarian Church, or the Mercer Island Rotary Club.