Thomas E. Herson

Thomas “Tom” Edward Herson, 82, died Sunday, September 16, 2018 at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, NY, after a brief illness.

He is survived by his wife of almost 45 years, Ann Mary (Walpole) Herson; son, Ed Herson and grandchildren, Charlie and Christopher; son, John Peters (Ashley); and daughter, Julie Steele (Damien) and grandchildren, Jacob Mathew and Sophie. He was predeceased by his first wife Marianne (Fish) Herson; son, Charles Mathew Peters; sister, Shirley (Clarence) Wright; and brother, Jack Herson.

He was born and raised in Ithaca, the son of the late John B. “Jack” and Dorothy Handlen Herson. After graduating from Ithaca High School early at the age of 16, his parents drove him to Manhattan to a studio apartment on East 83rd Street. Tom loved to tell the story of how within minutes of their arrival, his mother let him know that he did not need to stay and they could easily turn around and drive back home. This did not dissuade him; he couldn’t wait to live in his beloved city.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962 before enrolling in undergraduate studies at Bentley College in Boston. After graduating with a degree in Accounting, he worked for IBM in Kingston, NY before moving back to Ithaca. He was employed by Cornell University until his retirement, where he was the Director of Finance for the ILR School.

Aside from his family, his greatest joys were genealogy and the theatre. He enjoyed attending theatre of all kinds – local, regional, and Broadway, and previously served on the Board of Directors for the Hangar Theatre. He built a large collection of vinyl recordings of Broadway musicals, which he was pleased to donate to WICB Best of Broadway. If you were lucky enough to participate in one of Tom and Ann’s weekend trips to NYC, you knew how much the theater was a part of their lives.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, September 22, 2018 at 11:00am at Immaculate Conception Church with Fr. Augustine Chumo. Calling hours will be held on Friday, September 21, 2018 from 4-6pm at Bangs Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Immaculate Conception Church or to a local theatre of your choice.

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