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Thomas Herson Obituary
Ithaca - Thomas "Tom" Edward Herson, 82, died Sunday, September 16, 2018 at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY, after a brief illness.
He is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Ann Mary (Walpole) Herson; son, Ed Herson and grandchildren, Charlie and Christopher; son, John Peters (Ashley); and daughter, Julie Steele (Damien) and grandchildren, Jacob Mathew and Sophie. He was predeceased by his first wife Marianne (Fish) Herson; son, Charles Mathew Peters; sister, Shirley (Clarence) Wright; and brother, Jack Herson.
He was born and raised in Ithaca, the son of the late John B. "Jack" and Dorothy Handlen Herson. After graduating from Ithaca High School early at the age of 16, his parents drove him to Manhattan to a studio apartment on East 83rd Street. Tom loved to tell the story of how within minutes of their arrival, his mother let him know that he did not need to stay and they could easily turn around and drive back home. This did not dissuade him; he couldn't wait to live in his beloved city.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962 before enrolling in undergraduate studies at Bentley College in Boston. After graduating with a degree in Accounting, he worked for IBM in Kingston, NY before moving back to Ithaca. He was employed by Cornell University until his retirement, where he was the Director of Finance for the ILR School.
Aside from his family, his greatest joys were genealogy and the theater. He enjoyed attending theatre of all kinds - local, regional, and Broadway, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Hangar Theatre. He built a large collection of vinyl recordings of Broadway musicals, which he was pleased to donate to WICB Best of Broadway. If you were lucky enough to participate in one of Tom and Ann's weekend trips to NYC, you knew how much the theatre was a part of their lives.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 11:00am at Immaculate Conception Church with Fr. Augustine Chumo. Calling hours will be held on Friday, September 21, 2018 from 4-6pm at Bangs Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Immaculate Conception Church or to a local theatre of your choice.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Herson
Sponsored by The Ithaca Journal.
Ed &nancy Hare
September 21, 2018
Ann and family we are so sorry for your loss bless youì
Ann Bradley
September 20, 2018
Ann - I am so sorry to hear about Toms passing. I have great memories of Tom in the break room at ILR telling his humorous stories of your trips to New York. My sincere sympathy and prayers go out to you and your family.
Lourdes Giudice
September 19, 2018
Tom in all the years I known him he was a great music and play s orator remembering who was who that play each role. He was amazing We have a terrible loss for the family and friends. We will miss you greatly. Hope you are entertaining everyone in H eaven.
Dan Dubock
September 19, 2018
I was just thinking of Tom and the Herson family the other day.
so sorry to hear about Toms passing I have
fond memories of spending a lot of time and many laughs over Ann & Tom's house. God bless and sending thoughts and prayers.....Dan DuBock
Kathy Boyce
September 19, 2018
I knew Tom only from the the Castrec list and private emails, but over a span of 20 years, I feel I knew him pretty well. We shared a great love of theater and I will miss him and his comments. The audience will be a little smaller.
Meg Monahan
September 19, 2018
It takes a special individual to take keen interest in family and ancestry. Much time and tenacity was put forth by Tom to uncover the buried treasures of lives that have preceded us. Ann is my first cousin once removed, first cousin to my mother Joan Walpole Monahan. When my grandmother broke her hip while visiting her home town of Groton, (around 1990) Ann and Tom played host while I visited my grandma at Cortland Hospital. Tom took the time to show me how he traced the Walpole genealogy. He was a wealth of information and so very easy to talk to. Wish I had more time with him. Blessings and prayers for my extended family.
Jerry Sanford
September 19, 2018
Tom and I were from the same section of town. We went to same schools all of our Ithaca lives we were from the Ithaca High School class of 1953 and renewed friendship at our 50th reunion.
Great man!!!
Sorry for your loss Ann and kids.
September 19, 2018
Ann, so sorry to hear about Tom. God Bless and comfort you and your family.
Steve Truesdail
Kathy and Jim Roberts
September 19, 2018
Our sincere condolences to you all during this difficult time. Tom was definitely one of a kind! It is with fond memories that I remember working with him at ILR and enjoying our lunch dates with the "gang" during his retirement years.
God speed my friend.
Alan Soden
September 18, 2018
Even though we never met, I've known Tom for close to 25 years. He's been a really good friend, and one who will be fondly remembered. Both Bruce and I send our sincere condolences to Ann and the family.
Stan/Sue Ferrell/Higgins
September 18, 2018
We are so sorry to hear of Tom's passing. We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to recently spend an evening with you both. Hearing about your trips to New York and to the theatres was so much fun.
Eileen Walpole-Henrie
September 18, 2018
I am so sorry for the loss of this kind man. My condolences for all of you. Am sure he and my dad will meet and share memories...very sorry.
Jessica Ebert
September 18, 2018
My deepest condolences to all the family and friends. May you Rest In Peace. You will be missed ❤
rocco scanza
September 18, 2018
I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Tom but I did work for many years with Ann. My heartfelt condolences to Ann and the entire family. May Tom rest in peace.
Suzanne Michaels
September 18, 2018
Tom,
I really enjoyed your emails through the years and getting you as much info as I could
dig up for the genealogy reports you worked on all the time. I enjoyed your stories about my mom Diane. I can tell you were an amazing family man and loved your family dearly. God bless and may you Rest In Peace.
Much love,
Suzanne Hope Michaels
Ron Ehrenberg
September 18, 2018
Dear Ann and Family
I am so sorry for your loss. Tom was a great ILR colleague and I admired the way that he adjusted to his vision problems while he was retired. I remember fondly running into him often at the Hangar Theater and once, many years ago before he knew me well, he asked someone I was with if Randy was my daughter. He scored lots of points with her when I told her the story
Mike Terry
September 18, 2018
So sorry for tor loss.
Ron Seeber
September 18, 2018
Tom and Ann were great friends of mine at the ILR School. Without fail, Tom had a smile on his face, often ironic, and was a wonderful colleague. We always joked about the fact that we must be distant cousins due to our multi-generational roots in upstate NY. Despite our mutual genealogical interests, we never proved that connection. Best wishes to the entire family, especially Ann. Tom was a great guy and he will be missed.
Larry Martell
September 18, 2018
I met Tom on a Broadway mailing list a very long time ago, probably in the mid 1980s. After emailing for years we eventually met in the city at Barrymore's before a show and that became our regular hangout. He would take the bus down from Ithaca and I would take the train in from Long Island, we'd meet at Barrymore's, see a show, and sometimes he came back to my house for the night to save on a hotel. The next day we'd go back and see 1 or 2 more shows. Then we had the idea for the Encores lunches where we'd organize a group of like minded people who love Broadway to meet 3 times a year. At one point my wife and I considered moving to Ithaca so we went up there twice and went to his home and met his wonderful wife Ann and we got to see his amazing collection of Broadway memorabilia. I cannot count the number of shows we saw together and the hours we spend discussing shows and cast recordings. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Amanda Ebert-Rodriguez
September 18, 2018
Tom,
.you will be defintley be missed!! I always loved helping you out updating our family tree..my deepest condolences to your family!!❤
Seth Bisen-Hersh
September 18, 2018
I emailed Tom through the Cast Recording List a few dozen times over the years. He was always very supportive of my work and complimented my work on multiple occasions, which was very appreciated. He will be missed.
Charles Finn
September 18, 2018
A loyal and supportive friend. He will be missed by so many people!
Callie Monahan Johnson
September 18, 2018
Tom was a wonderful man and I enjoyed time spent with him and the rest of the family. He will be sorely missed by many. My heart aches for all of you and please know you have my continued prayers through this very difficult time. I love all of you!! Callie
Billie Conger
September 18, 2018
A great guy, welcoming, friendly..will be missed. Hugs to you Tom.
Janet Frand
September 17, 2018
I worked with Tom at the ILR School for many years. He was a kind and funny man and was very easy to talk with. He and Ann surround many of my fondest memories of ILR. My sincerest condolences to Ann and his family.
Gail Hendrix
September 17, 2018
I worked with Tom, and Ann, for many years at the ILR School. He was a good friend and great husband and father. He'll be missed by all who knew him. My best wishes for Ann and the rest of the family.
Barbara McPherson
September 17, 2018
I worked for/with Tom for many years at the ILR School. He made me laugh every day. I always told him I was going to write a book about his life someday, because every day he had either a funny, or sad or just strange story to tell me. Regardless of what the nature of it was, we always found something humorous in it. One silly, but very funny moment to me was one day in his office, he had about five fans sitting on the floor. I asked him why he had so many and he said this is my fan club. If he only knew how many life fans he actually had. He will be greatly missed. RIP, Tom.
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