Thomas U. Lineham Jr. ’40

Lineham Jr., Thomas Colonel, USAF (Ret.) age 97, passed away peacefully on April 22, 2016. He was born in Groton, Conn., Jan. 7, 1919. The son of Thomas U. and Helen W. Lineham. Attended public schools in E. Greenwich, R.I., graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Me., 1940. His military career began in 1940 serving in WWII in the U.S. Army Air Corps which became the U.S. Air Force. During his career he served in New Guinea and the Philippines. He completed Air Force Technical School in Montgomery, Ala. He was a Professor of Air Service & Tactics (AFROTC) at MIT. He then served in the 39th Air Division (5th Air Force) as a staff officer in Northern Japan. He returned to the U.S. where he served at the Pentagon. He later served the Air Force Inspector General Joint Chiefs of Staff Communication Division in Turkey. He retired in 1968. Tom was awarded the Legion of Merit medal and the USAF commendation medal. After retiring, he received a MSLS degree from the Catholic University of America in 1968, served as the catalog librarian at FTU (now UCF) and Rollins College 1968-1984. He was a life member of the Bromeliad Society of Central Florida and was editor of the Journal of the Bromeliad Society (International) for 19 years. He was a member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in College Park, Orlando. He is proceeded in death by his wife of 63 yrs, Marguerite, whom he met and married in Tampa, Fl., in 1942, and who died in 2005. He is survived by son Anthony Lineham, his wife Helen, grandsons Stephen Lineham, David Lineham, his wife Danielle and great grandchildren Willow and Carson of Arlington, Va., sister, Barbara Gregory, Austin, Tx., niece, Kate Graham, Austin, Tx., nephew, David Gregory, his wife Anna, Richardson, Tx., niece, Michelle Poth, Bellevue, Neb. A very special thank you to Heather Weekes, Ellen Igou Hamilton, and Diane Inniss. These ladies were Tom’s caregivers for the last year and a half which allowed him to continue to live independently in his apartment. We would also like to thank the nurses at Cornerstone Hospice for their support and care in Tom’s final week. With all of the expert compassionate care he received from everyone in his final weeks, Tom was able to live his final days on his terms with comfort and dignity. A final thank you to Happy Gafford for the years friendship and spiritual support she gave Tom.