Thomas Lawrence
Dec. 20, 1933-Aug. 21, 2015
Mountain View, California

Surrounded by family, he passed on Aug. 21, 2015, aged 81. A resident of Mountain View, CA, and London, England, he was born in Grand Rapids, MI, to George H. and Ethyl M. Lawrence. He attended Ottowa Hills High School in Grand Rapids and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in electrical engineering.

Moving his family to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1959, he worked at Lockheed, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and RCA. He went on to pioneer and serve as the general manager of the European subsidiaries for Intel Corporation, Apple Computer and others. In 1988, he founded TJL Inc. which assisted many great companies to enter the European market.

After retiring he went on to write a trilogy of novels based on his personal knowledge and experience in the high-tech industry. Having known many of the era-defining people, he drew heavily on his personal experience in bringing this world to his readers.

In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brothers, Gordon and Robert. He is survived by his wife, Gillian Lawrence; sister, Betty (Terry) Obenauf; daughter, Darragh; sons, Kevin (Tricia), Jeffrey (Alicia) and Kirk; eight grandchildren; one great-grandson, five nieces and three nephews. A friend and mentor to a great many, he will be missed by all.

Tags: veteran, business