Obituary for Thomas G. "Tom" Wildman
Acton.MA
Thomas Grayson Wildman, 63, of Acton, Massachusetts, passed away from complications of a heart attack on May 23, 2019, at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Massachusetts, surrounded by his loving family.
Tom is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine. He also leaves his two brothers and their families: James Wildman and his wife Jan of New Milford, Connecticut and their children Leigh, Andrew and Mark; John Wildman and his wife Jane of Cincinnati, Ohio and their sons Jack and Patrick; and his cousins, Sarah Geer, Anne Geer and their families, along with many friends.
Born on January 12, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Tom was the son of Walter B. and Patricia (Grayson) Wildman. He fell in love with computers at the age of twelve and went on to graduate from Case Western University with a degree in Computer Engineering. He had a life-long love of computers, all things electrical, along with a fascination with NASA and the Apollo missions. After college, he worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Apollo Computer, and later Hewlett-Packard as a Project Manager. For the last two years he was employed at Robinson's Hardware in Framingham, making dear friends of his coworkers and customers in the store.
By far, the most important thing in Tom's life were his children, Ellie and Catie. He was very involved in their lives, being a great soccer Dad, carpooling daily to school, and always being their Mr. Fix-It. He emphasized kindness and compassion, and taught them to appreciate the intricacies and engineering in nature and the world around them. He was so very proud of the adults they had become.
Tom loved being outdoors, hiking, canoeing, and just relaxing outside with his tea at sunset. During his teenage years, he canoed the Seal River in Canada with friends from Camp Kooch-i-ching. He cherished hiking Mt. Wachusett with his daughters nearly every October.
When Tom and his wife Susan bought a horse farm in Bolton, he became an adept farm manager, maintaining the property and caring for the horses. (His personal favorite was the thirty-four-year old gelding named Chad.) The family's animals adored him - dogs, cats, horses, goats, a rabbit, a guinea pig and a tortoise - not only for his generosity with his animal cookies but for his gentleness and love. Tom was involved in his community as well, serving for many years on Bolton's Election Committee and Park and Recreation Committee. He volunteered for over ten years with the Just 'Cause Walk, along with his wife, raising money for breast cancer research and the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden in Harvard. From the outpouring of love and sympathy we have received, Tom will be most remembered for his kindness, his calm and understanding manner, and his ability to truly listen to people from all walks of life.
A celebration of his life and memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 29th, 2019 at 11:OOam at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Tom may be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Society www.massaudobon.org or the Camping Education Foundation at www.campingedu.org (Kooch-i-Ching and it's sister organization, Ogichi Daa Kwe). For a life story, directions, or to leave an online condolence visit www.actonfuneralhome.com
Thomas Grayson Wildman, 63, of Acton, Massachusetts, passed away from complications of a heart attack on May 23, 2019, at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, Massachusetts, surrounded by his loving family.
Tom is survived by his wife, Susan, and their two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine. He also leaves his two brothers and their families: James Wildman and his wife Jan of New Milford, Connecticut and their children Leigh, Andrew and Mark; John Wildman and his wife Jane of Cincinnati, Ohio and their sons Jack and Patrick; and his cousins, Sarah Geer, Anne Geer and their families, along with many friends.
Born on January 12, 1956 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Tom was the son of Walter B. and Patricia (Grayson) Wildman. He fell in love with computers at the age of twelve and went on to graduate from Case Western University with a degree in Computer Engineering. He had a life-long love of computers, all things electrical, along with a fascination with NASA and the Apollo missions. After college, he worked for Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), Apollo Computer, and later Hewlett-Packard as a Project Manager. For the last two years he was employed at Robinson's Hardware in Framingham, making dear friends of his coworkers and customers in the store.
By far, the most important thing in Tom's life were his children, Ellie and Catie. He was very involved in their lives, being a great soccer Dad, carpooling daily to school, and always being their Mr. Fix-It. He emphasized kindness and compassion, and taught them to appreciate the intricacies and engineering in nature and the world around them. He was so very proud of the adults they had become.
Tom loved being outdoors, hiking, canoeing, and just relaxing outside with his tea at sunset. During his teenage years, he canoed the Seal River in Canada with friends from Camp Kooch-i-ching. He cherished hiking Mt. Wachusett with his daughters nearly every October.
When Tom and his wife Susan bought a horse farm in Bolton, he became an adept farm manager, maintaining the property and caring for the horses. (His personal favorite was the thirty-four-year old gelding named Chad.) The family's animals adored him - dogs, cats, horses, goats, a rabbit, a guinea pig and a tortoise - not only for his generosity with his animal cookies but for his gentleness and love. Tom was involved in his community as well, serving for many years on Bolton's Election Committee and Park and Recreation Committee. He volunteered for over ten years with the Just 'Cause Walk, along with his wife, raising money for breast cancer research and the Virginia Thurston Healing Garden in Harvard. From the outpouring of love and sympathy we have received, Tom will be most remembered for his kindness, his calm and understanding manner, and his ability to truly listen to people from all walks of life.
A celebration of his life and memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 29th, 2019 at 11:OOam at the Harvard Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard, MA.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Tom may be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Society www.massaudobon.org or the Camping Education Foundation at www.campingedu.org (Kooch-i-Ching and it's sister organization, Ogichi Daa Kwe). For a life story, directions, or to leave an online condolence visit www.actonfuneralhome.com