

Thomas Hadley Rose died Monday October 10, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina He is survived by his wife Patricia, daughter Margaret-Jane, son-in-law Scott, son Patrick, and grandson Alexander Scott Lofty. Tom and Patti were married on September 9, 1967 in Woodstock, Virginia.
Tom was born in North Carolina on August 17, 1942 to Howard Thomas Rose and Bergie Glenn Rose. At the age of 2 his family moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia where Tom grew up. He graduated from Frederick Military School and then Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was a member of the Army Corps of Cadets in I Company.
Tom worked in the family restaurant business in Virginia Beach, the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board in Richmond, Virginia, and EPA in Athens, Georgia, before moving to Raleigh to co-found Eastern Technical Associates. Tom dedicated his life to the protection of the environment and worked to improve air quality all around the world. Tom was an inventor, an educator, a businessman, a mentor, beloved husband and father.
Tom was a man of many interests, history the ocean, politics, shipwrecks, optics, photography, target shooting, art, gardening and bonsai creation. His step grandfather, who was a frogman in world war I, taught him to scuba dive at the age of 9. Tom pursued this interest throughout his life and shared it with many others. His favorite spot to dive was Roatan, a small island off the coast of Honduras. He said he would never see everything there was to see there. In his younger years he enjoyed skydiving, skiing, rock climbing and spelunking. He enjoyed building and firing rockets from an early age that persisted throughout his life. He was an active member of the rebreather community and helped advance the science thereof.
The Memorial Service will be held October 28, 2011 at the Mitchell Funeral Home (7209 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh, NC) from 11 am to 2 pm. Guests are encouraged to wear Tom's trademark attire, Hawaiian shirts.
Donations to either www.roatanmarinepark.com or www.seashepherd.com may be made in Tom's name.
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