Thomas Lynn Lombardo

POPLAR GROVE - Dr. Thomas Lombardo, son of the late Joseph X. and Mary R. Lombardo, lost his battle with cancer on March 26, 2024. A native of Jamestown, NY, Tom graduated from Jamestown High School (1981), Jamestown Community College

(1983), SUNY College of

Technology (1985), and Binghamton University (1987). He later earned his doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University in 2011.

In 1988, Tom married his soulmate, Lisa L. Morey Lombardo. In 1995, Lisa and Tom welcomed their son, Joseph M. Lombardo, into the family.

Tom was an engineer at Acu-Rite in Jamestown before leaving industry to pursue his true calling in higher education. From 1989 to 2018, he proudly served as Professor of Engineering Technology at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL, where he was named Faculty of the Year in 2001. In 2013, he began a side gig as a freelance technical writer. Tom retired from academia in 2018 to expand his writing career.

In addition to spending time with his family, Tom enjoyed reading books, solving crossword puzzles, listening to music, being in nature, watching football (Go Bills!), cooking, and – in his own words - making somewhat recognizable sounds with an acoustic guitar.

Preceded in death by his parents, Joseph X. and Mary R. Lombardo, Tom is survived by his wife Lisa and son Joseph, his sister Sandra Weimer (Richard), his brothers J. Paul Lombardo (Sally) and Louis Lombardo (Maria), his foster sister Mary Frank (Mark), and numerous nieces and nephews.

A collection of Tom’s personal writing can be found at https://ARippleInStillWater.wordpress. com/

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Rock Valley College Foundation or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN).