Thomas Nosek

June 16, 1939 - Sept. 22, 2020 Tom was born and spent his early years in Chicago, graduated from high school near Philadelphia, and received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in aeronautics and astronautics in Boston at MIT ('61, '63), and when he had the opportunity after graduation to move from the lands of Real Winter to sunny southern California as a newly-minted aerospace engineer he never looked back. He met and married Leah, his California girl, and they remained married until her death in 2019. A resident of Torrance for more than fifty-five years, he loved sailing, especially his Tornado-class catamarans, and was a long-time member of Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club. He also enjoyed playing tennis; skiing at Mammoth and Big Bear; and scuba diving in the waters of southern California. He served as president of the Riviera Homeowners Association and on the Torrance Airport Commission. At TRW, later Northrop Grumman, he worked on and managed many different projects but was particularly proud of his work on the Aura satellite, part of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) studying the Earth's ozone layer, air quality and climate. After he retired he dove right back into aerospace consulting and continued to be an eager student of all things technical. He called himself a kleptofactomaniac--"When I see a fact, I must possess it." This served him well in his several stints on Jeopardy! which garnered him five wins in regular season play and the title in the 1993 Tournament of Champions as well as second place in the 10th Anniversary Tournament and appearances in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions and the Battle of the Decades Tournament. He and Leah travelled all over the world together, visiting places like New Zealand, Egypt, Fiji, China, Greece, and Russia, where a highlight of his trip, naturally, was a visit to Star City. His beloved wife, Leah, predeceased him in 2019. He leaves behind his daughter, Monica; son-in-law, Harold; grandson, Thomas; brother, Peter; sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces, and nephews; and many, many friends and colleagues whose company gave him so much joy. He loved good food and good wine, and if you would toast him over dinner and remember him fondly that would be a fine thing and fitting.