Thomas Remick
June 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019
“Life is good.”
Thomas Remick, lifelong jokester, dedicated architect, devoted husband and father, and ranking elder of the extended family passed away peacefully on July 31, 2019 after a brief illness.
Tom was born at home in the small coal-mining town of Dickson City, Pennsylvania. He moved to Paterson, New Jersey in 1942 and then to Madison in 1972, where he resided upon his passing.
Tom graduated from Paterson Central High School in June 1946, where he was active in track and football.
After high school he volunteered for the Army, attending basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. An excellent marksman, he was awarded the Expert Rifleman badge. Tom was assigned as a Cadre Platoon Leader for one cycle and served with the 6th Infantry Division occupation forces in South Korea as an 81 mm mortar gunner and squad leader.
After the Army he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, where he was a member, historian and social director of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1952. In subsequent years he undertook advanced studies in New York City at Columbia University and the former Institute of Design and Construction and was also specially trained in fallout shelter design.
Tom was a registered architect in New Jersey and New York and with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He was also a registered professional planner in New Jersey and member of the American Institute of Architects, New Jersey Society of Architects and the Architects’ League of Northern New Jersey.
In more than fifty years of architectural practice, he rose from junior draftsman to Project Director, eventually overseeing more than $250 million of projects in a wide variety of building types, including educational, residential, commercial, industrial, military, science, and criminal justice. Some of his most notable projects included the seven-building mega-structure of Bergen Community College and various facilities for Rutgers University and Middlesex County College. He was the Field Architect for a major addition to the Sparta High School which was the first successful building systems fast track high school in New Jersey.
In his younger years, Tom was an expert downhill skier, starting in the era of wooden skis with lace-up leather boots. Speed skating was another special talent and love, and he was proud to have been a finalist in the Silver Skates competition held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During high school and college he enjoyed hiking, camping and canoeing with friends in the Adirondack Mountains.
Throughout life he enjoyed undertaking design/build projects for himself at his own residence as well as for family and friends, and creating artwork of various kinds. He was the winner of a national commercial art contest and in recent years began making his own greeting cards -- decorated with art and photos, written in his distinctive architectural handwriting, and addressed to their recipients in beautiful calligraphy.
Tom was pre-deceased by the love of his life, Lylo (Lee), to whom he was married for 46 years. He is survived by his children and 4 grandchildren: son Kenneth, and daughter Lani, as well as his two younger brothers: Conrad and wife Norma (cousin of Lylo) of Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY and Norman and wife Diane of Barnegat, NJ. He was also close with his brother-in-law Rainer Geschke of Germany and enjoyed his host of nieces and nephews both here and abroad.
The family extends deepest gratitude to the staff at Morristown Memorial Hospital and the Oaks at Denville Health Center for their compassionate care in Tom’s last days. A small, private memorial service will be held at a future date and Tom will be laid to rest at the Gate of Heaven Catholic Mausoleum in East Hanover, NJ. In lieu of flowers, Tom asked that contributions be made to some of his favorite institutions in his beloved hometown of Madison: Madison Public Library, Madison Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Madison Fire Department.