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BORN
1958
DIED
2020
Tom Fawcett Obituary
July 4, 1958 - June 4, 2020
Resident of San Jose
Tom Fawcett, 61, died on June 4th 2020 in San Jose, CA in a cycling accident. A small family memorial service took place at Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley, CA on June 8th.
Tom was born on July 4th, 1958, in Columbus, Ohio to Sherwood and Martha Fawcett. Sherwood was a proficient sea captain from his active duty in the Navy throughout WWII, and the family enjoyed many weekends boating the Columbia and Snake Rivers when they lived in southeastern Washington, then summer vacations boating throughout Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. Tom loved the sea and had especially fond memories of these times with his family.
Tom graduated from Upper Arlington High School in 1976. He completed his BS in Computer Science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1980 and defended his PhD in Machine Learning at UMass Amherst in 1993. Tom had a long, successful career in data science and machine learning, in which he especially enjoyed writing and editorial work. He served on the Editorial Board for Machine Learning Journal for many years, co-chaired the Twentieth International Conference on Machine Learning (2003), and co-wrote "Data Science for Business: What You Need to Know About Data Mining and Data-Analytic Thinking" (published 2013) with colleague and longtime friend Foster Provost.
Tom enjoyed hiking, cycling, crossword puzzles, visiting Santa Cruz, and playing with his favorite dog, Holly. He is survived by his mother, his wife Karen, stepdaughters Rachael (Tony) and Jessica, sister Judy (Hendrik), brother Paul (Kim), nephew Andrew (Desiree), and great-nephews Ethan and Elijah. He was preceded in death by his father.
In lieu of flowers, Tom's family has requested donations be made to one of Tom's favorite charities:
Coastside State Parks Assn.
Rails to Trails
Doctors Without Borders
BRAC USA
Wikimedia Foundation
Aeon
Union of Concerned Scientists
Humane Society of SV
myclimate
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