The Life of Derek Tomlinson
Derek began his successful career as an environmental engineer with Langan Engineering in Doylestown, PA, and fell in love with the area and people, making his home away from Canada with Tracy. As his passion for rehabilitating and protecting the environment grew, Derek befriended a great number of colleagues and was privileged to work with Environmental Resources Management, Geosyntec Consultants, and finally, GEI Consultants of Exton.
As hard and passionately as he worked, Derek loved Broadway musicals, Hockey Night in Canada, movies, gardening, golf, fishing, cats, dogs, travel, making people laugh, and dancing at weddings. Above all, he was an avid and opinionated curler, making the Philadelphia Curling Club his home, even serving as Club President for a term, and enjoying himself at other curling clubs, especially Plainfield, Bucks County, and Norfolk. Derek loved curling for fun with Tracy and his dear friends, was inspired by the elites, especially the Glenn Howard and Rachel Homan rinks, and most passionately, cheering on our young, future Olympian curlers, “LOUD AND PROUD.”
In addition to the curling, Derek was a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan and knew that the long-overdue Stanley Cup win is coming, to add to the 1992 and 1993 World Series wins of the Toronto Blue Jays, and the underdog 2018 Superbowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Colleagues, friends, and acquaintances are invited to an uplifting memorial gathering, Saturday, April 28th, 2018, 11:00 AM at West Laurel Hill Funeral Home, 225 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004. Everyone is encouraged to wear something fun, bright, or flamboyant to mark the occasion, as Derek would. Immediately following, guests are invited to join a bagpipe & drum procession (7-10 min walk) to a reception at West Laurel Hill Cemetery’s Conservatory. Wear comfortable shoes! Ample parking provided on site. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Derek’s honor can be made out to the Pennsylvania SPCA, www.pspca.org, Make a Wish Foundation, www.wish.org, or a curling club of their choice, which are not-for-profit, volunteer-driven facilities committed to the fun and sport of curling.
Filter Derek Tomlinson's Timeline by the following Memory Categories
2018.04.21
Dress for Fun
Remember that Derek lived for fun—everyone thinking of joining us for this event are encouraged to wear their most fun and/or flamboyant outfits to celebrate the day. Basically, no need for mourning gear required.
2018.04.24
Dedicated To The Environment
I knew Derek from working with him in our remediation industry. He was well respected for his expertise and always looked forward to chatting with him at our industry conferences. I always wondered why he picked a technical career versus something more flashy. He will be missed by all of us who knew him and also have dedicated our careers to groundwater remediation. Eliot Cooper
2018.04.24
Endless Laughter
Derek brought so much joy to the water classes at acac--his kindness to everyone around helping them--encouraging them, his hysterical jokes that made the time fly by. This past Super Bowl Sunday he led the warm up--cheering on the Eagles to "Fly Eagles Fly" in all out Eagles attire and got everyone so pumped up for their win, and giving a great start to their workout. He was a part of our team even though he wasn't officially on payroll yet.
Every time he came to the pool on a Monday night I knew that class was going to be extra fun and that at some point I wouldn't be able to talk because I'd be laughing so hard.
Words cannot express how deeply he will be missed and my heart goes out to every one of his family members and friends. Derek was a ray of sunshine and brought joy and laughter to everyone in his presence.
2018.04.27
Career Legacy
Derek was my supervisor at GEI and It’s probably no surprise to anyone that he expressed a genuine interest in making my job and career the best it could be. He offered himself up as a technical and personal mentor and I appreciated his commitment. He impressed me with his technical knowledge and consulting skill. I wish I had more time to get to know him, learn from him, and work on more projects together. I will strive to carry on Derek's legacy and memory throughout the rest of my career. Thanks, Derek!
2018.04.28
E-A-G-L-E-S!
I got to know Derek over the last four months when I came to work with him at GEI. He was truly a genius in environmental engineering and well respected in the field. I just wish I had more time to learn from him and get to know him better. I’ll always remember his incredible sense of humor and his passion for everything that he loved. During the Eagles playoff run, Derek would show up to the office in not only in his Eagles jersey, but he would also wear a hat, beads, and start the E-A-G-L-E-S cheer in the middle of the day.
Micah
2018.05.11
Coming to the United States
I will always remember when I first met Derek. I had the privledge of recruitng this young Canadian to come and work in the states. We met at a conference in Houston and he immediately charmed me with his confident and direct but disarming style. Derek was always thoughtful and his humor was always appreciated. He was a wonderful preson to be around and shared his love of life in all he did. I was so saddened to hear about his untimely passing. I will miss him and always recall his great dimeanor and youthful outlook.
2019.08.06
Good Bye, my dearest friend
My dear Friend, I was devasted to learn about you leaving us...almos 1.5 later.... I am glad I had the chance to tell you how much I admire your brilliant mind! We met in CA back in 2006, when we made arrangements for you to come to Brazil to educate our team at ERM in Vapor Intrusion. With my heart in pieces, I post here a photo that I found at ERM files from your visit here in 2008. I wll always have good memories of our time together and the smile I put in my face every time we talked. I will meet you some day and we will laugh hard together as we always did. Susanne Loebmann.
2021.04.09
Thinking of you today
Derek - where have these 3 years gone. You had such a love of life. Know that you are still in our thoughts and you made a lasting legacy. Michaye
2022.04.05
Lunches out in Doylestown
Derek was one of my first supervisors at Langan in Doylestown, PA. I learned a lot of about working in some challenging sites including the oldest operating oil refinery on the east coast. I used to enjoy heading into Doylestown with him to get lunch including one of our favorites at the time Boston Market. I passed one today and thought of him. Great person to be around.
2022.04.15
Fond memories
Derek and I met at University of Waterloo. I have fond memories of his kind personality, his sense of humor, and his love of dancing. I'm saddened to learn of his untimely passing. RIP Derek.