of Dexter, MI, age 73, died peacefully at his home after a long battle with lung cancer and leukemia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2013. He was born September 22, 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Walter Joseph & Mary Virginia (Hitchcock) Risdon.
Tom graduated from Cooley High School in Detroit in 1957, and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Detroit in 1962. He worked summers delivering laundry for his family's business in downtown Detroit, and started working for Climax Molybdenum Co. in 1963. He founded Solid Lubricants Solutions consulting company in 2000. Tom was a world renowned expert in the field of solid lubricants, and wrote & presented numerous papers on the subject area of greases and molybdenum disulfide containing greases. He was a member of The Society of Automotive Engineers, Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (Fellows Award), National Lubricating Grease Institute (Fellows Award & served 3 years on the Board of Directors). Tom was a faithful member of Faith Ev. Lutheran Church since 1979, serving on the church council as Secretary, President, and Elder and sang in the church choir. He also was a loyal attendee of Dexter Community Band concerts from their beginning, watching his wife play trumpet.
On May 5, 1979, he married Phyllis Jedele, and they moved into their current home in Dexter. Other survivors include his two children, Dan (Sara) of Roseville, CA, Lori of Ellicott City, MD; brother- and sisters-in-law, James & Nancy Jedele, and Carol Tunningley; and many nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and his twin brother, Richard W. Risdon.
His children were the joy of his life. He was proud of Dan's graduation from Kettering University, and Lori's graduation from the US Air Force Academy. He was blessed by Dan & Sara's wedding and was anticipating the birth of his first grandchild due in September.
Funeral services were held Saturday, May 4, 5:00 p.m. at Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Dexter, with Rev. Mark Porinsky officiating. Burial was Monday at Lodi Cemetery, Saline. The family received friends at Cole Funeral Chapel Friday 3-5 & 7-9 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to Faith Ev. Lutheran Church, 9575 N Territorial Rd Dexter, MI 48130 or St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Cancer Center, 5301 Elliott Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48106.