John Thomas (Tom) Tahaney

Published 6:57 am Friday, July 23, 2021

John Thomas (Tom) Tahaney died July 12, 2021 in Cedar Hill, Texas, following a lengthy illness.

Tom was born to Charles Joseph and Katie Beatrice Tahaney in Port Arthur, Texas on August 15, 1935.

He was the eldest of five children.

Tom served in the United States Air Force from 1957 to 1962 with detachments in the Philippines and Japan.

His love for aircraft and flying extended into his career working on the stealth bomber at LTV Corporation and at Computervision where he was a consultant for NASA.

After graduating from Lamar University in 1969 with a degree in electrical engineering, Tom began his career at Western Electric in Omaha, Nebraska working on some of the first computer systems.

Following post graduate studies at Ohio State University, he and his family returned to Texas in 1979.

He ended his career in the field that he started, at IBM consulting for the SunOS Unix operating system.

Tom is survived by his wife Carolyn of 56 years; his son, John; daughter-in-law, Jeni; brothers, Stedman and Michael; and sister, Charlotte.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother Patrick.

His family celebrates his generous, kind, loving spirit and a life well lived.

Graveside service will be at the DFW National Cemetery to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Irving School’s Foundation’s Michael Sigurdson Memorial Scholarship.

This scholarship is awarded to a graduating senior who plans to pursue a college or university degree in art.