1961 – 2015

BUCKEYE, Ariz. — On Jan. 14, Thomas Whiting, 53, of Buckeye, Ariz., had another heart attack, from which he could not recover.

He was born in Lewiston on Aug. 1, 1961, to Henry and Dorothy (Perkins) Whiting. He graduated from Edward Little High School in 1979, and then went on to graduate from CMVTI and SMVTI. On April 14, 2001, he married Leah Steinmeyer.

He worked many jobs in Maine that he referred to as his “stepping stones to where he wanted to be.” He started out in the family business, Whiting’s Greenhouse, then among other jobs, worked at Radio Shack, J.C. Penney, Creative Engineering, VP Film and Tape, Maine Public Broadcasting, WBLM, L.L. Bean, Great Work Internet and his destination job, the senior 9-1-1 user technology specialist at the Phoenix Fire Department. While working there, one of his projects created the 9-1-1 button, which is found on some cellphones.

He loved people and touched many lives as he traveled through life. While in Maine, he was active in the Ham Radio Club, played games with his nieces and nephews, camped and hiked. On Friday evenings, you would find him with Ray Bergeron and Rick Pare playing in a band dubbed Rush 2.

He leaves behind his parents; his bride; his son, Michael; his daughter, Nevaeh; his brothers, John and Leanne Whiting, Richard Whiting and William and Ruby Hall; his sisters, Christine and Daniel Nolin and Heidi Rahkonen and Steve “Jarry”; nephews and nieces, Erica, Kim, Josh, Henry, Jim, Sidra, Katy, Jeff, Zach, Zeiva, Josh, Miley, Trevor, Chy’anne, Jon, Heather, Andrea, Dan, Robbie and Becca, and many adopted nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind many aunts, uncles and cousins.

He was predeceased by one Rush 2 band member, Ray Bergeron.