Tom Thurlow

Madison - Tom Thurlow was a kind, generous, intelligent, eccentric uncle who died December 18 after a blessedly brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was born in 1951 in Charlottesville, VA and grew up in Madison (West HS 69 - "Flash", class photographer) within earshot of Camp Randall.

After graduating from UW pharmacy school he worked in pharmacies in WI and California, then reset his direction with electrical engineering degrees from the University of Minnesota. He led a nomadic life, finding high tech positions wherever he wanted to live, starting at Motorola in Chicago in the first cellphone technology group, on to Texas for Ford automotive microprocessors, to Northern Telcom in Ann Arbor for storage technology, Eau Claire for supercomputer storage arrays, Storage Tech in Boulder CO (his favorite home, a cabin high in the Rockies with a shotgun by the door ("mountain lions")) and finally back to Motorola in San Jose before retiring to Madison to his cottage overlooking Lake Mendota in 2014.

Tom was his nephews' favorite uncle and sister-in-laws' favorite oldest child, always visiting with unlimited energy to spoil them and go on adventures right up to the end.

His search for the best KungPao chicken was legendary in the family, as he would recount at any gathering. His lifelong craving for the "best deal" in real estate "peaked" with the acquisition of waterfront property on an Alaska island he could only reach by boat...but never visited.

He is survived by brothers Peter (Julie) Thurlow, Madison WI, Stephen (Elizabeth) Thurlow, Aurora IL and cousins Jim (Yoko) Farwell, Enumclaw WA and Bruce (Renata) Farwell, Simi Valley, CA as well as 8 grand nieces and nephews whose college funds he generously filled. He was predeceased by his parents Willard and Constance.

A celebration of Tom's life will be held at a future date.

Cress Funeral Home

3610 Speedway Rd.

Madison, WI 53705

608-238-3434