Dear Friends- As some of you may have heard, my uncle, Tom Colgan, passed away last month. Details of his Quaker Memorial Service on Feb 22, can be found at the end of this lovely obituary written by his daughter Terry. Let me know if you need directions. Also, please forward this along to anyone who may want to know.
regards, brian
Thomas E. Colgan of Arden, Del., died on January 10, 2003, in Manor Care Nursing Home. Tom dedicated his nearly 85 years of life to the realization of God's Kingdom on Earth by devoting his considerable energy to the causes of peace, racial justice and the environment, and to rowing, sailing and building all kinds of boats.
Tom was raised in Philadelphia, Pa., the oldest of four sons of Irish immigrants. He was a champion oarsman for St. Francis Xavier High School and several of the clubs along Boathouse Row. In World War II, he served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Maritime Service, training Merchant Marines to crew hospital ships. That experience convinced him of the immorality of war, and led him to join the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and commit himself to their Testimony of pacifism and social activism.
As Director of Race Relations for the American Friends Service Committee, Tom worked tirelessly for fair housing and employment for African Americans. As private citizens, he and Joan Ware Colgan, his wife of 49-1/2 years, straw bought houses for African Americans, and even moved in with the families during the first tense weeks to provide a Friendly presence and mediate community conflict. They were also active in helping to reform prisons. Tom continued this work as Director of the William Penn Center in Falsington, Pa., where in addition to serving the needs of local residents, he educated the community about oppression of people nationally and worldwide by sponsoring Peace Pilgrim, Alan Peyton and other social reformers. Tom's activities caught the attention of Kermit Fisher, who hired him to be Vice President of Personnel and Community Relations of Fisher & Porter of Warminster, Pa., to integrate the company's workforce and to create programs to meet community needs with company funds.
Since 1954, Tom and Joan lived in her family home in the Village of Arden where they raised five children and were actively involved in Village life. Tom served on the Safety Committee and as Chair of the Arden Town Assembly, and co-founded the Arden Community Recreation Association. Joan and Tom were active in Fourth and West Friends Meeting, Concerned Citizens and Common Cause. In addition to these activities, Tom and Joan traveled extensively throughout the world and enjoyed time together on the Chesapeake Bay aboard their wooden sailboat, Friendship. Joan passed away in 1993.
After Tom retired, he continued to work for racial justice with his friend, Dr. W.T.M. Johnson, and helped to found the West Chester Human Relations Council with his friend, Dorothy H.L. Carroll. He was a member of Birmingham (Pa.) Friends Meeting.
Tom educated Wilmington residents about the recreational, environmental and cultural significance of the Christina River. With Howard Smith, he founded the Wilmington Rowing Club. He founded Camp Dimension to teach boating skills to people with disabilities and river stewardship to Wilmington schoolchildren and, with students at Howard High School of Technology, built several boats for this purpose. Tom organized the first Christina River Cleanup, which is now an annual event sponsored by the City of Wilmington in which hundreds of volunteers participate. Until very recently, Tom was frequently seen on Wilmington streets picketing against environmental abuses with his friends, Jake Kreshtool and Alan Muller, or educating community groups about Wilmington history while dressed as the Quaker abolitionist Thomas Garrett. For these and other contributions to the life of Wilmington, Tom was honored by the Delaware General Assembly in 2001.
Tom Colgan is survived by his family: Joan (Penny) Colgan-Davis, her husband, John, and their son, Evan, of Philadelphia., Pa.; Deborah Colgan, her husband, Tim Snyder, and their sons, Garrett and Erin Colgan-Snyder, of Boston, Mass.; Thomas James (Tim) Colgan, his wife, Lanier, and their children, Cal, Katherine and Mark of Longwood, Fla.; Terry Ann Colgan of Arden, Del., and her sons, Gabriel Hufford of Wilmington, Del., and Timothy Hufford of Apex, N.C.; and H. Tony Colgan, of Broomall, Pa. Tom is also survived by Dorothy Carroll, his dear friend of nine years; three sisters-in-law; six great-grandchildren; and13 nieces and nephews, and their children.
A Memorial Service for Tom Colgan will be held at the Gild Hall, The Highway, Arden, Del., on Saturday, February 22, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. His immediate family will privately inter his ashes in the Arden Memorial Garden. Instead of flowers, Tom's family suggests contributions to the following organizations that Tom loved:
Arden Community Recreation Association c/o Annie Gutsche, Treasurer 1609 Orchard Road Ardentown, DE 19810
American Friends Service Committee 1515 Cherry Street Philadelphia, PA 19103