Submitted by: Dan Rich

Thomas R. Reece

Feb. 11, 1912 - Aug. 19, 2002

South Bend Tribune 8/21/2002

Thomas R. Reece, 90, a native and former resident of South Bend, Ind., died Monday, Aug. 19, in Clearwater, Fla. Born on Feb. 11, 1912, he graduated from Central High School and Purdue University.

After 42 years as a research chemist for the O'Brien Corporation, he retired to Florida in 1977. He was a member of First United Methodist Church, Clearwater, and the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. He was in the Army Reserves for 15 years, and during World War II served as a bomb disposal officer in Newfoundland, England, and the campaigns for Northern France, Central Europe and the Rhineland.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Vernadell H. Reece of Clearwater, a son, T. Dennis Reece of Tampa, Fla.; and by a daughter, Elizabeth Anne Breuer of Sarasota, Fla.

His ashes will be inurned at the Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park, Clearwater.