Thomas Morrison Whitlock

Tom Whitlock, age 56 years, of Raritan Township, NJ, passed away on Saturday, October 19, 2013 at home with his family after a courageous battle against cancer.

Tom will be dearly missed by his family. He was a kind hearted and supportive husband and father, a wonderful son and brother, and a special uncle.

Tom was born in Chapel Hill, NC but spent the majority of his childhood in Bergen County, NJ. Tom graduated from Tenafly High School. After several years in the workplace, Tom attended the Stevens Institute of Technology where he concurrently earned a B.E in Engineering Management and a M.S in Technology Management. He was co-valedictorian of his graduating class.

Tom worked for over 20 years in engineering management and quality assurance. He worked in various leadership roles in the medical device, food packaging and pharmaceutical fields. Most recently, he was employed by Merck as an associate director in device development.

In his free time, Tom enjoyed beach vacations with his family, reading, and golfing. He also loved the challenge of word and number puzzles. He started each day with the New York Times crossword puzzle and was known to complete them in record time. Tom was a lifelong fan of both the Giants and the Yankees. Tom enjoyed and was skilled at home projects. He was a 3rd degree knight with the Knights of Columbus of St Magdalen’s; he enjoyed the camaraderie and the community service, particularly the toy drive at Christmas for children of local families in need.

Tom was predeceased by his parents, Dr. Robert and Joan Whitlock of Easton, MD, earlier this year. He is survived by his beloved wife Sue and his four beautiful children, Amanda and Kayla (at home), Christine of Brighton, MA, and Michael of Northvale, NJ. He is also survived by his brother David Whitlock (Kate)of Suwanee, GA, his sister Dr. M.E Fithian (Don) of San Diego, CA, his brother Rob Whitlock (Janice) of Santa Rosa, CA, his mother and father in law, Kathy and Al Tagliareni of Hillsborough, NJ and brother in law Jeff Tagliareni of Pennington NJ. He is also survived by 11 adored nieces and nephews: Andrew, Katie, Dan, Amy, Ryan, Robert, Marylee, Nicholas, Kenny, Alex and Nick.

Tom’s courage and grace from the time of his cancer diagnosis until his passing was inspirational to his family and all who knew him. Tom and his family were greatly lifted in spirit by the outpouring of support by family and friends as Tom fought his valiant battle.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. in St. Magdalen Church, 105 Mine Street, Flemington, NJ. Interment will follow in St. Magdalen Cemetery, North Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Calling hours will be held on Friday from 4:00-7:00 p.m. in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Avenue, Suite 200 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266.

Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information, or to send condolences.