| C. Thomas (Tom) Apple |
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Tom was born in Oaklandon, Indiana on 11/15/1931 and died on Thursday, January 23, 2014. He is predeceased by his father and mother, George and Nellie Apple. Survived by his loving wife Dorothy, five sons, a daughter, fourteen grandchildren, one great grandchild, and three siblings; George Apple, Eleanor Dolph, and Chloie Ramos. Growing up in Indianapolis, he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1948 at age 16. When he turned 17, he joined the U.S. Navy. During his four years, served mostly on destroyers, he met his future wife, Dorothy Ames, in Woburn, MA. They married in January, 1951 and had their first son, Chris, in December. Tom entered Purdue University in 1953 and graduated 3 years later with a B.Sc. degree, majoring in math/physics. During this time he also worked full time in local factories. Dorothy gave birth to three more boys. In January, 1956, Tom joined IBM in Poughkeepsie Research as a programmer. In the fall he was transferred to Cambridge MA to assist with a computer IBM had donated to MIT and other New England colleges. While there, when Sputnik was sent into orbit, he worked with Smithsonian scientists to program the Sputnik's position every 3 minutes; this resulted in his appearance on TV. During that 18 month assignment, Dorothy had another boy and then her long awaited girl. Returning to Poughkeepsie, he subsequently held a number of management positions in Poughkeepsie. The family remembers many weekends at Lake Taconic, picnicking and sailing their Sunfish sailboat. Moving to San Jose in 1967, he again held a number of management positions in the Laboratory and Manufacturing. In 1985, Tom and his wife, Dorothy, began a two year assignment in Mainz, West Germany during which they traveled extensively throughout western Europe. Tom retired from IBM in 1987. Tom then spent three years helping one of his sons with a software company he had founded, finally retiring in 1990. Tom had two hobbies, traveling and reading. He was also very family-oriented, returning to Indiana many times for family reunions. He was extremely pleased that his own family enjoyed their time together at holiday dinners and other events. One highlight for the family was when all the twenty-seven family members were able to join on a seven day Mexican cruise on the occasion of Dorothy's 80th birthday. |