Thomas W. Brennan ’52

Thomas W. Brennan ’52 passed away in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 26, 2014, of a heart attack, one month after losing his wife, Ellen. They had been married for 63 years. Tom was born on September 24, 1930, in Detroit, graduated from Missouri Military Academy in Mexico, Missouri, and came to Dartmouth with his high school classmate, the late Tony Ibarra ’52. They remained lifelong friends until Tony passed away in December 2011. Tom left Dartmouth midway through junior year and graduated from the University of Michigan. He then served in the U.S. Air Force in the United States and England. His business career started with the family appliance distribution company in Michigan. In 1960 he purchased an appliance manufacturing company in Indianapolis, and the family essentially remained there. Tom sold the first business and temporarily “retired” in 1970. In 1972 he bought another business, manufacturing home ventilating equipment. During this time Ellen embarked on an impressive career as a language lecturer at the joint Indiana-Purdue University campus in Indianapolis, where she taught for 31 years. Children Anne, John and Warren, along with their spouses and several grandchildren, survive him. Even though Tom did not graduate from Dartmouth, he was a loyal alum, attending reunions and serving for many years as a volunteer fundraiser for his class and the College.