- Date Of Birth: December 25, 1915
- Date Of Death: January 28, 2011
- State: Georgia
Thomas John Bermingham was born on Christmas day in 1915 in Chicago, son of Lillian Marguerite Doyle Bermingham Anderson and stepson of John George Anderson.
Tom graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1942. Just as the United States entered World War II, Tom enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was commissioned as an Ensign. He was selected to enter the ground-breaking field of radar technology. Tom received advanced electrical engineering training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Bowdoin College and served as the senior radar maintenance officer for the Panama Canal Zone, overseeing all radar maintenance activities for ships transiting the canal. As a recognized expert, he assisted with the design and testing of the electronic radar equipment used at Bikini Atoll nuclear bomb testing. Tom’s stories of his World War II adventures in Panama amazed and entertained his children and grandchildren throughout his life. Following his service in the Navy, Tom joined the sales force of Otis Elevator Company in Atlanta, GA. He fell in love with his wife Jean on a blind date, and they married and moved to Greensboro, NC, where all three of their children—Ellen, Nancy, and John—were born. Tom’s career with Otis Elevator Company spanned 40 years. He transferred to Miami, FL as Sales Manager, where he served as District Manager for South Florida for close to 30 years. Tom was an active member of the Rotary Club of Miami, Dade County Chamber of Commerce, South Florida Code Activity Board, and the Association of General Contractors. He also served as a Deacon at Riviera Presbyterian Church. A nationally recognized expert in elevator technology, Tom launched a highly successful consulting business after he retired from Otis in 1982. For the next ten years, he served as a consultant, and Chief Engineer and Construction Manager for Gunderlin, Ltd. in Miami. Tom and Jean retired to Tallahassee, FL in 1991 where he continued consulting and attended the Osher Lifelong Learning Center of Florida State University. Tom enjoyed traveling, playing golf, and fishing in south Florida and remained devoted to his family and friends throughout his life. Tom was predeceased by his wife Jean, sister Lillian, and his father and mother.
Survivors include Ellen and Ken Prest, and their children Matthew and Meredith, of Pensacola, FL; Nancy and Jim Donbavand, their children Lisa Phillips, Jamie, Thomas, and Peter, and five great-grandchildren, of San Antonio, TX; and John and Libby Bermingham, and their children, Ryan, Brent, and Justin of Newnan, GA.
