Amherst, Thomas Healy Trotman born March 5th, 1941 in Detroit, Michigan passed July 12th, 2018 in Amherst at home. Son of Theodore and Alma (Crause) Trotman of Detroit, brother of Shirley & Kevin Daly of Oregon, brother of Nancy & Jim Henry of Oregon, husband of Margaret Diane MacArthur Ferguson Trotman, who passed in 2002 and Daddy-O to the sunshine of his life, Joan (Jody) Babilonia, her husband Marcos Babilonia of South Hadley and their two boys Brett Babilonia of Holyoke, MA and Tyler Babilonia of Phoenix, AZ. Tom leaves behind his dear friend and companion Bobby Zajieck of Amherst and Brendan Larson house fixer, painter, do-er of all things and all around good friend.

Tom became a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Amherst shortly after moving from Michigan. He served in many capacities and on many Boards and always answered the call when needed. He was a proud mid-western Lutheran.

Education was important to Tom. He began his undergraduate studies at Alma College where he met Margaret. Both Tom and Marge had lifelong friends from Alma. Tom then attended The University of Michigan and The University of Massachusetts where he obtained masters degrees respectively.

His professional career of over 30 years began at The University of Massachusetts where he retired from as Executive Director of the UMass Foundation. He served under former President David Knapp with whom he had a strong and close working relationship with. He was on The Board of Trustees at UMass for many years and loved his job. He was particularly proud of his work with the UMass Mounted Police and the Hadley Farm. He was awarded the Silvio O. Conte award for his service and dedication to the Foundation.

Tom loved all things outdoors: hunting, fishing, camping, fly fishing, boating and all things Orvis, and had a passion for Moosehead Lake Maine where he and his buddies would venture off to his camp and solve all of the problems of the world. As a young boy, it wasn’t uncommon for him to load up his canoe with his tent, some sandwiches and a rifle and head out for the weekend camping alone on the shores of a lake in Michigan.

Tom had a love of history, and was particularly fond of The Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan where he would take Jody every chance they could go. He was a voracious reader and loved antiquing and collecting. He collected things mechanical and anything that could be taken apart and put back together again. Tom was an active and lifelong member of The National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. Certainly not boastful about it, but he would be considered in todays terms as an aficionado and scholar of horology. Tom was also a British car enthusiast. It wasn’t uncommon to find several vehicles of sorted condition in his collection as any given time. Many long hours after work and on weekends were dedicated to fixing, tuning, assembling and loving these cars. His passion was contagious.

Tom leaves several nieces and nephews along with their families as well as two beloved kitties.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to The Dakin Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 6307, Springfield, MA 01101 or to The Shriners Children’s Hospital C/O Helma Court No. 64 attention Pat Semb, P.O. Box 99, Erving, MA 01344.

Calling hours will be Thursday, July 26th from 5-8pm at the Douglass Funeral Service in Amherst. A funeral will take place on Friday, July 27th at 10am at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Amherst with burial to follow in Wildwood Cemetery.