CAPE ELIZABETH – Thomas Caroli Walz died Oct. 12, 2020, at the age of 92.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Annabelle Liggett Walz; son, Philip Liggett Walz, daughter, Jeanne Karlin (Walz) Gorham, son, Michael Adolf Walz, daughter Caroline Steele (Walz) Carlson; 11 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his sister, Doris Eugene (Walz) Titus. He is predeceased by his brother, Hans George Walz and his sister, Ursula Louise Walz.

Tom was born Sept. 2, 1928, at Arlington, Mass., to Adolf Walz and Gertrude Catherine (Karlin) Walz. He attended Belmont, Mass. schools, Univ. of Mass Amherst (B.S.), Lincoln College New Zealand (Fulbright Scholar) and Purdue University (MS, Ph.D.). He was a Korean Conflict Veteran.

Working out of an old barn in Contoocook, N.H., in 1956, he and his cohorts at HMC Corporation developed machines used by sawmills. Early on they built a log debarker which permitted that portion of a log not used for lumber to be converted to wood pulp; the bark became widely used as a garden mulch. Many more machines and new methods followed in the early days as they brought meaningful change to this industry.

By 1988, separated from HMC Corporation, he and Dave Hemingway established a Distributor arrangement with several machinery manufacturers, which proved to be a successful and fun occupation for another 25 years. However, at age 85, it was time for a rocking chair. His interests were broad: active sports to historical inquiries; offshore cruising to cooking; building lapstrake wherries to raising vegetables, raspberries and peaches, be it at Hopkinton, N.H., Southport Island, Cumberland or Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Very much a do-it-yourselfer, he did not fit the mold of his Agricultural Economics education; rather he was at home on the ballfield, making hay with the first Hay Baler to operate in Maine (out of Winslow), producing 30 gallons of maple syrup yearly, when conditions allowed.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Bryant Funeral Homes, Berlin and Gorham, N.H. Messages of condolence may be shared online at http://www.bryantfuneralhome.net