Thomas C. "Tom" Malone

1943 - 2024

Thomas C. Malone ("Tom"), iconic scientist, leader, family man and friend, of Easton MD passed away peacefully with his wife and two children at his side on February 24, 2024 after a fall at his home. He was 80 years old. He was a University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences (UMCES) Emeritus Professor following a distinguished career in biological oceanography, holding various regional, national, and international leadership positions throughout his career.

Tom has been described as a devoted family man, a thoughtful leader, a passionate science advocate, an avid cyclist (in younger years), and a "distinguished hippie". He loved family gatherings, telling good stories, sharing meals, especially those laden with garlic, with friends, waxing poetic about nature, philosophy, and politics, and spending time on Chesapeake Bay. Tom and his wife Mary Lou celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in January.

Tom was predeceased by his parents, Thomas E. and Carolyn Malone (Underhill), and his brother, Robert E. Malone. He is survived by his wife, Mary Lou Malone (nee Meadows) of Easton; daughter, Kelley K. Moran (Jeff) of Easton; son, Michael M. Malone (Sherri) of Huntersville, NC; sisters, Ruth Ortega (Jose) and Martha Walker (Bill); five grandchildren, Michael Malone-Whaley and Alex Moran of Easton MD, Carlee Malone of Chapel Hill, NC, Matt Orlove (Maggie) and Megan Orlove (Ross) of LA, CA; two great-grandsons, Julian and Jack of LA, CA; godson, Cullen Murray-Kemp of Charleston, SC; and many nieces and nephews.

Tom was born in Banana River, FL to parents Thomas E. Malone and Carolyn U. Malone, but he spent most of his youth in the bay area of California, where his family grew to include two sisters, Ruth and Martha, and a brother, Bob. He loved to scuba dive, and he excelled in water polo in high school, but his love for the ocean led him to a career as an oceanographer.

He attended Colorado College (CC) for his undergraduate degree in zoology, graduating in 1965. It was at CC that he met the love of his life, Mary Lou, whom he married in 1964. In 1965, Tom and Mary Lou moved to Hawaii where Tom obtained his master's degree in oceanography. In 1971, he earned a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University with his doctoral studies completed at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey CA. While at Hopkins, Tom sailed on a 135' double masted schooner, conducting scientific research in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. His memoir recalls many successful research cruises and many good times in the Gulf of California and the Galapagos Islands. He became somewhat bilingual on those trips with "Una mas cerveza, por favor" becoming his favorite Spanish phrase.

Following his Ph.D., Tom, Mary Lou and children, Kelley, and Michael, moved to the New York City metropolitan area where Tom taught and conducted research at City College of New York. Much of his research took place in the New York Bight, the coastal area between Long Island and the New Jersey coast.

Tom later held positions at Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Geological Observatory and the Dept. of Energy and the Environment at Brookhaven National Laboratory before coming to Maryland in 1982 to accept a job as a research faculty member at the University of Maryland's Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, MD, where he was soon promoted to full professor.

Tom's scientific interests were wide: ecosystem dynamics, phytoplankton ecology, coastal eutrophication, coastal ocean observing systems and ocean policy and, after retirement, climate change and global warming. His research centered around phytoplankton, the tiny photosynthetic organisms that comprise the base of the oceanic food web. He became an expert in the over-enrichment of nutrients in the coastal ocean.

Tom's Horn Point colleagues share that he had an immediate positive impact on the laboratory's research programs and research collaborations. He was elected chair of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies (UMCES) faculty senate and was asked to step in as head of UMCES for two years after the sudden passing of its president in 1988. When the interim position ended, Tom became the director of the Horn Point Laboratory, a position he held until 2001.

During his tenure as Horn Point Lab director, he expanded the laboratory's faculty and facilities and extended the research and education programs. Tom was successful in initiating and leading several large UMCES team science research projects in Chesapeake Bay and, more broadly, in coastal waters of the United States. In 1992 he became the director of EPA's Multiscale Experimental Ecosystem Research Center of the UMD Center for Science. In 1998, Tom was elected President of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, and he chaired numerous scientific committees established to improve our understanding of coastal seas around the world.

After his tenure as Lab Director, in 2002, Tom received the University System of Maryland Board of Regents award for outstanding public service for his national and international leadership in helping develop coastal observing networks.

In 2003 he became the director of Ocean.US' Office for Sustained and Integrated Ocean Observations. That same year, his undergraduate institution, Colorado College, awarded Tom an alumni award for "outstanding achievement in one's chosen field, excellence through unusual success or contribution, and research that has advanced a profession and improved people's lives".

Tom developed a passion for ocean observing systems and served on national and international teams to advance observing networks designed to collect climate change data around the world in a consistent manner to support climate change forecasting. After his retirement in 2010, Tom continued to publish scientific papers, edit books, and serve on various science advisory boards.

During Tom's scientific career, he authored or co-authored over 50 articles for peer-reviewed journals, wrote many technical reports, and co-wrote and edited articles and chapters for many national and international publications. He gave many invited talks around the world on subjects ranging from the design of a predictive system for harmful algal blooms to a talk on climate change and coastal ocean information needs at the 3rd World Climate Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Upon return from his oceanographic cruises and international travel, his children, even as they aged, and friends relished the stories of his adventures. He was once and always a teacher, not only regarding his scientific ventures but also his world view, as it related to politics, global warming, and social justice. A niece recently shared among her tears, "He taught me so much." Tom loved to quote the parrot from Aldous Huxley's ISLAND: "Here and now, boy. Here and now." He lived that principle of mindfulness and encouraged others to do the same.

When Tom and Mary Lou's children were growing up, they loved camping and other outdoor activities. Summers found them hiking along rocky mountain trails and camping in Colorado, the Adirondacks and Maine, visiting with friends along the way. Avid skiers, they enjoyed traveling with family and friends to their second home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for extended ski trips, relishing the exhilaration of the slopes and the apres-ski hours of hot tubbing, good food, and lively, enlightened conversations. After the children flew the nest, Tom and Mary Lou discovered other adventure travel with friends and family--running the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon three times on wooden dories, taking a Boundary Waters canoe trip in which he and Mary Lou were alone among the moose, bears and 100s of islands for most of the two-week trip, and wilderness rafting/camping in Alaska among others. As aging encouraged less adventurous pastimes, Tom enjoyed volunteering at the Talbot Interfaith Shelter (TIS) in Easton. His love for the organization and its people led him to become an unofficial ambassador for TIS whenever he had the opportunity.

Tom will be sorely missed by all who had the good fortune of knowing this very special man.

A celebration of Tom's life will be held in late spring. Details to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Talbot Interfaith Shelter, PO Box 2004, Easton, MD 21601.

For online condolences please visit: www.fhnfuneralhome.com