Thomas C. Conlan

Thomas C. Conlan was born March 18, 1955, to William A. "Scotty" Conlan and Eleanor H. (Carpenter) Conlan in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
He was married to his high-school sweetheart, Celeste Lorraine (Messier) Conlan, on October 22, 1977, and they lived and loved for 40 years, married for 35, raising three sons. His family was with him in the waning weeks, and he died of cancer on October 23, 2012 at his residence as he held Celeste's hand.
He is preceded in death by a brother John R. Conlan, who passed on October 10, 2010, and his niece Trish Tremblay, who passed August 6, 2005. He is survived by his son, Richard Messier Conlan and wife Sera Autumn Galvin, living in Mansfield, MA; his sons Dennis Paul Conlan and Gregory Thomas Conlan, living in Attleboro, MA; his late brother John's widow Enma Conlan, living in Providence, RI; his sister Susan Tremblay and fiancé Jonathan Murray, living in Fall River, MA; his brother Douglas Conlan and wife Pamela, living in Clifton Park, NY; his brother William Conlan and wife Linda, living in West Warwick, RI; his father William A. Conlan and mother Eleanor H. (Carpenter) Conlan, living in Attleboro, MA; twenty nieces and nephews and their significant others, as well as twenty-three great nieces and nephews and three great-great nieces and nephews; aunts, uncles, cousins, and a great many friends.
Tom was an incredible father, raising his children with a love of life, knowledge, science, charity, and integrity. And beyond that a mentor to nearly everyone in his life. He was an adventurer, climbing mountains from Mt Washington and all the 4000 footers in New Hampshire to Katahdin in Maine and Ben Nevis in Scotland, canoeing rivers and swamps, kayaking on the ocean, fishing in mountain streams and out at sea, and driving across the country not once, but thrice.
He was a scientist, earning multiple bachelor's degrees while working as an electrical engineer and then spending over a decade as a cutting edge researcher with many patents to his name. He was a tinkerer at home too, always acquiring and repairing things and spinning up ideas and inventions till the end. He was a handyman, building out his family home where he did everything from concrete to framing to plumbing to electrical. He built also a hovel he surrounded with pines in the backyard and spent much time there pondering and reading and working on projects. He was a lover of music, enjoying his records and playing guitar. Beyond our shores he traveled to Germany and his ancestral home, Scotland.
If you close your eyes and picture him, surely it is walking mountain paths with bag pipes, with a deep bassline and rocking guitar. He left the world a better place than he found it, and is deeply missed by all who knew him.
Family and friends are cordially invited to attend visitation on Saturday, October 27, 2012 from 9:00 - 11:00 AM in the "Memorial Chapel" of Dyer-Lake Funeral Home - the national historic Colonel Obed Robinson Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, mile on left), Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro.
Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend a brief Service of Celebration and Reflection on Saturday, October 27, 2012 immediately following visitation at 11:00 AM in the "Memorial Chapel" of Dyer-Lake Funeral Home - the national historic Colonel Obed Robinson Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue (exit 5 off I-95 N or S, go right at end of ramp, mile on left), Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro.
Burial will be private at St. Stephen's Cemetery, Attleboro. A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at a later date at St. Mark Roman Catholic Church, Stanley Street, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro.
Following funeral home services an invitation will be extended to join the family for a time of continued fellowship and refreshment at a location to be announced at the conclusion of services.
In lieu of flowers and memorial donations, it is requested by the Conlan family that you take the money that would have been spent on those nice gestures and do something special with and for your family.
To send the family a written expression of sympathy or for additional information please visit www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com .
Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200