Thomas L. Sherer Ii

Sherer, Thomas L. II

Rochester: Thomas Lincoln Sherer II, 86, of Rochester, N.Y, died November
7, 2010, at Unity Hospital, Greece, N.Y. Tom was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on September 2, 1924. Mr. Sherer entered World War II after graduation from Allentown High School in 1942, serving in the Burma-China-Indian Theater until the end of hostilities. Tom served as a mechanic performing maintenance on antiaircraft batteries and military vehicles. He was extremely proud of his war service. Upon his return from the war, he attended and was graduated from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, and received master's degree in chemistry from Middlebury College in Vermont in 1950. Tom was married to Miss Frances Weida the same year. Tom began employment with the General Electric Company (GE) in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1951, where he spent his entire career, retiring in 1987 after 35 years. He rose to the position of Senior Wire Magnet Engineer, and earned a number of patents that are still in force. Tom and Francess lived in Richmond, Mass., for 45 years, where they raised five children. Tom was extremely athletic, and spent many hours cross-country skiing, skating, bicycling and swimming with his children. Tom and Francess were avid gardeners. You would often find them during the summer months on their knees, he weeding the vegetables and she weeding the flowers. They also had a love of animals, the family having numerous pets. They were members of First Church of Christ Congregational in Pittsfield for 35 years and were very active in the church. He was a deacon, sang in the choir, and for years performed in special oratorio performances. They were also active in a local theater group for a number of years. Tom sang with the Berkshire Choral Society, was a volunteer usher at the Tanglewood Music Center summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and served as Moderator for the Annual Richmond Town Meeting for a number of years. After his retirement from GE, he served on the Richmond Board of Health, before relocating to Rochester in 1999, not long after Francess' death in 1998. Tom spent the past five years as a resident of the Rochester Presbyterian Home.

Tom is survived by his five children, Abigail Mazzeo of Martinsburg, W. Va., John of Coudersport, Pa., Peter of Rochester, James of Roseville, Calif., and Rebecca of Northampton, Mass. Tom is also survived by 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and by his sister Elizabeth "Betz" Freas, who still lives in the Allentown area.

Memorial services will be held in Rochester at the Presbyterian Home on November 10, 2010 at 3 PM and in Pittsfield at a later date. Funeral services are being coordinated in Rochester with New Comer Funeral Home on 2636 Ridgeway Avenue and in Pittsfield with Wellington Funeral Services on 220 East Street. Burial services will be attended by immediate family in Richmond at the Center Cemetery Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the First Presbyterian Home, 256 Thurston Road or Unity Hospital on 1555 Long Pond Road in Rochester.