Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Thomas Harvey Maxson

Thomas Harvey Maxson, 70, a resident of Shelter Island for the past 15 years, died on June 21, 2019 after a long illness.

Tom, son of the late William Maxson and Mary Elizabeth Maxson (nee Whiteman), was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on October 1, 1948. He graduated in the Class of 1966 from Greenwich High School and attended Yankton College in South Dakota.

He was a man for all seasons, his family said.

Tom worked variously as a long-distance truck driver, an insurance salesman, an options trader and a submersible pump engineer. He was also a gifted mechanic with a life-long passion for cars. During the late 1960s and early 1970s he was part of a race car pit crew and followed NASCAR and Formula One racing for the past 50 years.

Tom is survived by his wife, Jenifer Maxson of Shelter Island; his mother, Mary Elizabeth Maxson, and sister, Marney Farmer, both of Danbury, Connecticut; his niece, Meghan Farmer of Bethel, Connecticut; his nephew, Colin Farmer of Norwalk,Connecticut; his two step-daughters, Johanna Fitzgerald of Scarsdale, New York and Karena Shields of Shelter Island; and four step-grandchildren, James and Kay Fitzgerald and Marco and Sena Shields.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Sierra Club (sierraclub.org) in Tom’s memory. Arrangements are being made for his memorial service, the date and location to be announced.