Thomas Jackson Clowes MD

Dr. Thomas Jackson Clowes passed away Wednesday, December 29, 2010, at Glover Hospital in Needham, Massachusetts, at the age of 63. Dr. Clowes was born Dec. 24, 1947, in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended school at Hawken in Cleveland and Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, followed by college at Harvard University, where he majored in chemistry. Upon graduation from college, Thomas Clowes joined the Coast Guard and served as an officer on the Coast Guard Cutter Storis stationed out of Kodiak, Alaska. He finished his tour of duty in Juneau, Alaska as a lieutenant in the Rescue Coordination Center.

Starting in 1975 Dr. Clowes studied medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester in 1982. Dr. Clowes married Magdalena Merck Wheeler in 1972. The couple settled in Rochester, where Dr. Clowes had a successful private practice in internal medicine. He was a clinical instructor and attending physician at the University of Rochester Medical School until his retirement.

As a member and director of Clowes Fund, Dr. Clowes was a philanthropist who worked to support art, the environment, and medical education.

Dr. Clowes was an avid sailor and sportsman, who loved to cruise with his family. He sailed in a number of ocean races, including the Monhegan Race, Newport-Bermuda Race, and the Marblehead-Halifax Race. Other hobbies included bicycling, hiking, camping, and building boats and children’s toys.

Dr. Clowes will long be remembered as a caring physician and loving husband, father, brother, son, and friend. Dr. Clowes is survived by his wife Magdalena Wheeler Clowes, of Rochester and Woods Hole, MA, daughter Sarah Wheeler Clowes and her husband Mark Michelin of San Francisco, and son Alexander Wheeler Clowes and his wife Jolynn Khamky of Manhattan, his mother Margaret Clowes of Dover, Massachusetts, brothers Dr. Alexander Clowes of Seattle, Washington and John Clowes of Cushing, Maine, sisters Margaret Bowles of Lyme, New Hampshire and Dr. Edith Clowes of Lawrence, Kansas.

A Memorial Service will be at 3 pm on January 29th at the Church of Messiah in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Memorial contributions in Tom’s name may be given to The Association of Frontotemporal Dementias Caregiver Respite Fund at Radnor Station Building 2, Suite 320, 290 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, Pennsylvania 19087.