Thomas J. Maxwell

Thomas John David Roberts Maxwell, 64, of Benton Harbor, passed away Wednesday, March 3, 2004 at Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph with his wife, Virginia Ellen Abbott Maxwell at his side. Friends may call from 6:00 P.M.-8:00 P.M. Saturday at Kerley-Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Liturgical Prayers will be recited at 8:00 P.M. Cremation will follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Thomas J. Maxwell Memorial Fund at Benton Harbor Area Schools, or The Benton Harbor Boys and Girls Club. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Mr. Maxwell was born February 4, 1940 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania to John and Alice (Roberts) Maxwell. He was an only child. Tom was a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Chemistry, and a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Biology. It was on the campus of Franklin and Marshall College that he met his wife, Virginia Ellen Abbott. They married on December 26, 1967 in Tallahassee, Florida. Upon graduation from college, Tom was employed by Armstrong Cork Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as a research chemist to translate technical documents from German into English. Later he worked as a research chemist for Hamilton Watch Company in Lancaster, and as the assistant director of chemistry and metallurgy for the Bulova Watch Company in Queens, New York. In 1972, Tom moved to Michigan as the director of quality control for the Michigan Division of the Musselman Food Company. When Pet Foods sold Musselman Foods, he became plant manager for Creative Foods. In 1982 he became a partner in Kam X Graphics in Stevensville, retiring in 1995. Mr. Maxwell leaves behind his wife, Virginia Ellen Abbott Maxwell and her siblings-James D. Abbott, Earl E. (Marge) Abbott, Jr., Betty Abbott Peters, and Shelley Abbott (William) Huckeby; a host of nieces and nephews. Special in his life were Norma, Patricia and Bradley Schutter. He was preceded in death by his mother Alice Roberts Maxwell in 1963, his father John Maxwell in 1977, his step mother Anne Maxwell in 1992, and his favorite childhood friend David Schutter in 1993. Mr. Maxwell was an avid history buff. His favorite pastimes were reading, gourmet cooking, art, music, antiquing, and traveling back east to Pennsylvania and Maine.