REMEMBERING THOMAS J. RADCLIFFE, PE

​Thomas J. Radcliffe, PE, the founding father of our engineering group, passed away peacefully on November 30th at the age of 94.
 
Tom served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as an Electrician’s Mate on the USS PCS-1455, which was used to control and coordinate the beach landings in the Pacific, including the liberation of the Philippines and the invasion of Okinawa. He married Edna in 1947, then studied electrical engineering at Fenn College of Engineering in Cleveland, Ohio on the GI Bill, eventually becoming a licensed professional engineer.

He worked at the Republic Steel Corporation as a co-op student while at Fenn College, and then full time from graduation until 1981. While there, he became one of the founding engineers of the Nucleonics Division, which supervised the use of nuclear furnaces for the production of steel, and served as the corporation’s radiation control officer.
 
After moving to Florida, Mr. Radcliffe began a second career. When APG needed a professional engineer, he left behind his comfortable retirement to help. He came on board in March of 1991 to supervise our engineering work as our Vice President of Engineering and the qualifier of the business. As the group expanded, his role changed, but his devotion to the job and his high level of professionalism never diminished. He cherished everything about APG and loved reading the Pipeline, saving every issue.
 
After 26 years with us, Tom retired in January 2017, but his influence can still be felt. Each year, a member of the Engineering Group is honored with The Thomas J. Radcliffe Engineering Excellence Award, to recognize the continuous display of the highest standards of morality, character, integrity, and engineering performance. Tom leaves a legacy of excellence.
 
After hearing of his passing, many who knew him shared that “he was such a nice gentleman.” He will be truly missed by our entire team. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.