Tom Mollard ’50 passed away January 21. As part of the indomitable Class of ’50 engineers who have met annually without fail since their graduation, Tom will be especially missed.

The 89-year-old long time Los Altos resident passed away from internal injuries suffered from a fall a week earlier.

His wife, Ann, preceded him death when she passed away in 2009 and his sister, Roberta Mollard Pavlakis, in 2000. Tom is survived by his 2 daughters, Susan (husband Ron) Glaze, Monterey, CA and Kitty (husband Jack) Friel, of Millis, MA, three grandchildren, Jack, Casey and Ryan and 3 great grandchildren, sisters in law Mary Durkin and Eileen McAvoy as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Tom was born and raised in Oakland, CA. His father died when he was 6 and his mother raised him and his older sister, Roberta, as a single mom during the Depression. Tom was a proud graduate of St. Joseph High School, class of 1944 in Alameda. Immediately upon graduating he joined the Navy where he saw duty in the Pacific on the USS Coughlan during World War II. When the war ended, he attended Santa Clara University where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. The discipline and faith he learned from his high school and college never left him and he attributed his success in business and as a husband and father to these institutions. 

He met the love of his life, Ann, at the German Club in Oakland in 1949. They were married in 1951 and soon moved to Walnut Creek. In 1959 the family moved to Los Altos where he lived the remainder of his life.

Tom stayed in close contact with his high school and college friends. His engineering class at Santa Clara University has held a reunion every year since 1950. He also attended many WWII reunions with his former shipmates.

Tom started his career with the Atomic Energy Commission and eventually was president of his own company, Mollard Marketing. He was a long time member of the Electronics Representative Association and a past director of Wescon.