Deceased June 10, 2015
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In Memory
Tom Upham passed away on June 10, 2015. Born in Kalamazoo, Mich., he lived mostly in the East after attending Amherst.
At Amherst he joined Beta, was on the swimming and lacrosse teams, belonged to two clubs—outing and premed (certainly an indication of his interests for the rest of his life)—and graduated cum laude.
Tom spent a couple of years in the Army during the Korean War and went on to receive a master’s degree at George Washington University. This started an outstanding career in related fields of medicine. Starting in Washington, D.C., he worked at the Pentagon, doing research for MIT, and went on to American Optical and product development at Warner Lambert. Finally he formed his own company, the Chocorua Group in Woodstock, Conn., where he worked on products for many biotechnical companies, including the enzyme system for cleaning soft contact lenses. His powerful intellect was outstanding, and even in retirement he tutored others and followed his “outing club” interests: he was an accomplished fly fisherman, mountain climber and outdoorsman.
During all these years, he was raising a fine family. He married Margaret Hogg (Grinnell College) in 1955, and they had two daughters, Rebecca and Candy (both married) and five grandchildren, all of whom survive him.
George Hiller ’50