May God bless you and your...
Tom, MSU graduate student picnic, early summer 1972.
Evan Jones
August 22, 2021
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Thomas Charles Edens
Bellaire, Michigan
About
DIED
March 15, 2020
LOCATION
Bellaire, Michigan
Obituary
Send FlowersThomas "Tom" Charles Edens of Bellaire, Michigan died at the age of 80 after a courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia. Tom was a true north compass to his spouse, children, grandchildren, and many lifelong friends. He was a brilliant collaborator, thoughtful listener, resourceful problem solver, and tinkerer. His subtle and often dry sense of humor was ever present, even in the most challenging situations. People gravitated to him, yet he was modest and understated. He was born and raised in Manistee, MI. His father Harold Edens was a newspaper typesetter and jazz musician and his mother Lillian (Long) Edens was an elementary teacher and school principal. His early years growing up outdoors on the shores of Lake Michigan fishing, canoeing and lifeguarding shaped his pursuit of life on the water and in the woods. Tom served in the US Air Force in the Philippines and Japan from 1958-1962. After his service, he returned to higher education, completed a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Western Michigan University in 1966 and a Ph.D in Economics and International Economic Development from Michigan State University in 1972. In 1965 he met fellow student and future spouse Mary Swerbinsky while on a Fulbright Scholarship in Yugoslavia. They married in 1966 and shared 54 wonderful years together. Tom taught economics at CMU from 1966-68 and at WMU from 1971-73. He was a professor of Resource Development and Sustainable Agriculture at Michigan State University from 1973-2000. Over the course of the next three decades, Tom became a leading-edge researcher in fields of energy policy, sustainable agriculture and integrated farming systems working across multiple disciplines including engineering (energy), agriculture and entomology. Along the way he served many government agencies including the EPA, NASA, and the Presidential Council on World Hunger. He was an avid outdoorsman (fishing, boating, hunting), accomplished woodworker, grill master and enthusiastically pursued golfing, paddleball, skiing, pool, and cards. Among the many who will miss him are his surviving family members. Tom was devoted husband to Mary Edens of Bellaire, Michigan. Loving "Pops" to son Russell Edens (Micah) of Traverse City, Michigan and daughter Christine Edens Le Pottier (Yves) of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Adored "Gramps" to grandchildren Violet and Nikolai Edens; Luc, Sophie, and Benoit Le Pottier; and step grandchildren Declan, Rutger, and Cassius Feeney. Little brother "Tommy" to Darwin Edens of Algonquin, Ill.
Guest Book
Dear Mary,
Carmel and I were privileged and have happy memories of visiting your lakeside home on two occasions and of Tom's visit to Ireland and of dining with him in the Newport Hotel in County Mayo. It saddens us to learn of his passing - he was a generous friend.
Séamus and Carmel Lillis
Séamus Lillis
August 11, 2021 | Dublin Ireland | Friend
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Mary, I am so sorry to hear of the death of your husband. I just found out today! Please accept my sincere condolances! It just does not seem fair at this time in our lives when we depend on each other! My cousin just lost her husband and she is 2 years younger than I am. She lives in Scranton, so we talk almost daily. Know that you are being thought of and I look forward to seeing you again. Take care, Katrina
Katrina Marshall
June 05, 2020 | Bellaire, MI | Friend
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Dear Mary. We are so sorrowed over Tom's death. We were not aware that he had been ill with that terrible disease. We have so, so many fond memories of Tom and you, beginning in your home in East Lansing; dinners, making pasta, playing bridge, Mexican theme parties, charade parties, Halloween, and to the cottage at Intermediate Lake to ski and boat, and to the Schuss Mt. cabin for mushrooming and skiing, hunting, and to your current home for many, many more of the same. He was such a...
Marilyn & Dick AUGUSTINE
April 10, 2020 | DEWITT | Friend
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I first met Tom in August 1996, when I came to the Department of Resource Development at MSU on sabbatical from my institution in Australia. I immediately recognized in him, a 'soul brother' - albeit one far more talented than I. I felt, in meeting him, that I had discovered someone who I might best describe as a friend-in-waiting, someone previously unknown to me, with whom I shared intellectual passions, social delights, and a sense of the ridiculous, all alike. Over the intervening years,...
Richard Bawden
April 06, 2020 | Peregian Springs | Friend
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Great times at the cottage with the Edens, Ellis and Merritt families!
Great times at the cottage with the Edens, Ellis and Merritt families!
Rich Merritt
April 01, 2020 | The Villages, FL | Family Friend
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Tommy was a great guy, had an unbelievable sense of humor, and was a brilliant resource economist. Our family shared a cottage with Tom, Mary, Chrissy and Russ for many years on Intermediate Lake in Bellaire, MI. Our kids grew up together and we had the greatest time and shared so many fond memories of days on the Lake. Our deep felt sympathy goes out to the entire Edens family and Tommy's memory will live in all of our hearts forever. Love Rich and Pam Merritt
Rich Merritt
March 29, 2020 | The Villages, FL | Family Friend
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MaryBoth portraits, the sketch and the summary of Tom's life, are exceptionally well done about an exceptional man. As often happens to me with obituaries and funeral testimonials, I find that there is so much more to someone I thought I knew well that I wish I had known them even better. Of the many things I liked about Tom, perhaps what comes to mind first was his unique wit. He was so quick to come up with the perfect quip at the exactly right moment, sometimes stinging, sometimes just...
Dick Ault
March 28, 2020 | Warminster, PA | Friend
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So many memories and so many smiles at those memories! Rest in peace, my friend. My love to Mary and to Russ and Chrissie and their families.
Alice Ellis
March 24, 2020 | East Lansing, MI | Friend
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