Thomas J. Sours ’50

Thomas J. Sours ’50 died on May 29, 2010, at his home in Upper Arlington, Ohio. While at Dartmouth he was a member of Phi Delta Theta and was on the Interfraternity Treasurer’s Council. Tom married Jeanne Merriman, his high school sweetheart, at the “white church” in Hanover two days after his graduation from Tuck School in 1951. Many classmates stayed over to attend the wedding. Throughout most of his business career Tom was associated with the firm of Baldwin & Sours Inc., a family company that originally sold highway equipment and supplies and ultimately became distributors of traffic signal control equipment and highway safety hardware. Through the years Tom was a member of numerous professional transportation, road construction and traffic safety organizations, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Upper Arlington Booster Club (president), Ohio State University President’s Club, the Buckeye Club, Scioto Country Club, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Goodwin Society. Tom was highly regarded by all who knew him, as illustrated in a letter Jeanne received from one of his competitors: “Our industry has lost a true gentleman whose ethics and business conduct put him a cut above everyone else. He was an honorable competitor and a credit to the traffic industry.” A devoted family man, Tom—and Jeanne—lived within a couple of miles of their children Steve, Jenny and Kathy, all of whom with grandchildren survive him.