Although Tom's health had been declining in the past couple of years, he was still very much alive and interactive with his friends. He had been living in a nursing home, where even just a few months ago he had given a talk to the residents about Celeston telescopes and his work there. The last time I spoke to Tom was in early 2012, on his cell phone, where I told him I had just recently acquired a set of optics for a Celestron Off-Axis 4 (from a former Celestron employee). The "OA4" was regarded as a failed experiment, and when I told Tom I was trying to reconstruct one, he kept joking with me "Don't waste your time, it's TERRIBLE!"<br>Tom will be sorely missed by all of us...<br>Bob Piekiel