Tom was born on June 24, 1952 in Johnson City, NY to Ray and Arlene (Schild) Brearley. In what he often described as the greatest move of his life, he married Kathy Wall on August 7, 1976. Together they raised three sons, Mike (Jessi), Dan (Jamie) and Matt (Brittany). They have four loving grandchildren, Molli, Marilyn, William and Hudson. Tom is survived by his two sisters, Linda (Richard) Kromer and Beth (Joe) Kelly, lifelong friend and brother-in-law Rick (Bridgit) Wall, sisters-in-law Nancy (Tim) Woytek, Donna Wall, Mary (Randy) Whitehead, Aunt Ruth Warner, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and countless friends.
Tom graduated from Vestal High School in 1970 and went on to receive an Associate degree from Broome Technical College and earned both a Bachelor’s in engineering and MBA from Syracuse University. He had a distinguished 39-year career at IBM in Endicott, NY and Raleigh, NC in manufacturing, management and technical sales. His most recent role was an instructor for IBM’s Global Sales School where he enjoyed mentoring sales professionals and was surrounded by numerous outstanding colleagues.
Tom was passionate about car maintenance and DIY. He once painted a Corvette in a paint booth he set up in his parent’s garage, changed the clutch on a Datsun 240z with the help of his sons, and repaired a broken wheel on a Honda Accord using only a C-clamp. Tom’s knack for home repairs often made him the first call for neighbors, friends and family when they needed help around their homes. He was always happy to help.
Tom was proud of his family and enjoyed watching his boys grow up playing sports. He loved having his family close in Raleigh and spending time with them in Wrightsville Beach. He was a fan of the NC State Wolfpack and Syracuse Orange and could be found with close friends at football and basketball games. Tom honed his golf game on the hillsides of Endwell Greens and IBM Country Club in upstate New York. A round with his sons was his favorite foursome, especially playing Pinehurst No. 2 to celebrate his 60th birthday. He enjoyed golf trips with his friends to South Carolina, Florida and Pinehurst, and was a member of Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, where he enjoyed playing golf and tennis. Tom and Kathy were blessed to have traveled the world with their closest friends.
TB will be remembered as a great son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend whose witty sense of humor, analytical mind and playful nature brought a smile to everyone’s face.
Family will receive friends on Tuesday, September 15 from 4 until 7 p.m. at Mitchell Funeral Home, 7209 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC. A private family memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 16 at 10:30 a.m. The service will be live streamed publicly from Tom’s Facebook page as well this link: www.Facebook.com/MitchellFuneralRaleigh/
The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke Hospital and the Duke HomeCare & Hospice Team.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider expressions of sympathy be made to "StacheStrong", a non-profit organization supporting brain cancer research via www.stachestrong.org in memory of Team TB.
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