Thomas Cheung

Born in Yunnan, China, at the end of WWII, Thomas was brought as a toddler to New York by his G.I. Father. There Thomas became a life-long Manhattanite, first living with his family on the Eastside, then the lower Eastside and eventually in his own Co-op apartment north of the WillieB Bridge. A product of NYC public education, Thom graduated from Seward Park HS. He studied Chemical Engineering at Pratt Institute before changing his major and earning a BS in Mathematics at Belknap College, NH.

Thomas spent his entire professional career at the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), an industry journal serving NASA and aerospace. He began by writing abstracts of articles, books and other references that would be published by AIAA for professionals interested in aerospace research. He rose to Chief Indexing Editor before retiring in his mid-fifties.

During his retirement Thomas continued to pursue his interest in collecting comic books, science fiction novels, baseball cards and other memorabilia. He was very proud of his collection of hard-bound books, many of which are (first printing and autographed by the authors) limited editions. Thom was also an avid Yankees fan and watched all their games in season and “vintage” games off season...usually while reading one of his many books.

Late January 2023, Thomas underwent surgery at NY Presbyterian to remove a tumor in his brain. While convalescing he had three bouts of sepsis which weaken him and left him unable to care for himself. Thom then became a resident of CloveLakes Healthcare in Staten Island. While in their care, Thom began treatment for other cancers. He succumbed in the early hours of December 10th, a week before his 10th scheduled chemotherapy session.

A life-long bachelor, Thomas is survived by younger siblings, sister Nancy and brother Peter, two nieces and one nephew, and two grand-nieces and one grand-nephew .

Thomas will join his parents, Sueshan (nee' Young) and James Cheung, at The Cemetery of the Evergreens, Brooklyn. Visitation for Thom will be held Sunday, December 22, 2024, from 2 PM to 6 PM at Harmon Funeral Home, 571 Forest Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10310. Thom has requested in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Lifestyles for the Disabled SI (Day Program), and/or AHRC NYC (Group Residence), two organizations very dear to his niece Samantha. Envelopes will be provided at the funeral home.