Obituary for Derek Tomlinson
TOMLINSON, Derek Wolfe passed away sadly but peacefully in Palm Springs, California on Monday, April 9th, 2018 at age 48. He leaves treasured memories with his devoted and loving wife Tracy of 17 years. He was a proud and dear son of the late Ralph Tomlinson. He is survived by his mother, Marie (nee Wolfe) and step father Bruce Graham; brothers, Kevin (Jeanette) and Jeffrey; sister Brenda (John), and brother from another mother, Frank DeSouza.
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.
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.