R. Thomas Schoonmaker, retired transportation executive and entrepreneur and public-minded activist involved in an array of civic/local causes from Morris Arboretum to elder care, 21 December, 2023 of natural causes. He was 90 (DOB May 22, 1933).
A native of Ossining, N.Y, Schoonmaker lived in Philadelphia for 45 years. He resided with his wife Ann at the Hill at Whitemarsh when he died. High school sweethearts, they were married in 1955, and had three children.
A former executive of Consolidated Rail Corp., Schoonmaker was a member of the conveyance task force that created Conrail from assets of the Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna and other bankrupt Northeastern railroads in 1978.
He also served on the Pennsylvania governor’s Energy Council, SEPTA’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the Philadelphia mayor’s Recycling Advisory Committee.
A 1955 liberal arts graduate of Dartmouth College, he was former president of R.T. Schoonmaker, Inc., a transportation consulting firm, and involved in the sale of sand, gravel, compost, fertilizer and freight cars. He was a frequent speaker at industry conferences and provided testimony to Congress and municipal governments.
Schoonmaker was also an active member of the Unitarian Society of Germantown and served as board president and treasurer as well as baritone soloist in the choir. He was a member of the Germantown Cricket Club, board member of the Center in the Park, a senior care facility, and volunteer guide at Morris Arboretum.
A former soloist with Dartmouth’s glee club, Schoonmaker could perform both tenor and baritone roles. He sang in the Philadelphia area with The Mastersingers, the Choral Arts Society and the Ambler Choral Society. He also appeared as soloist with choruses in Pittsburgh, Detroit and New York. In addition, he could play five different musical instruments (“none with great expertise,” he said).
An enthusiastic gardener who won awards when he lived with his family in West Mount Airy, Schoonmaker was also an amateur painter, sculptor, ceramicist and lapidarist.
He served as a U.S. Army infantryman in 1955-58, including a year-long deployment with a battle group in the Panama Canal Zone. He qualified as a sharpshooter with the M-1 rifle.
Survivors include his wife, their children Timothy, of London, UK, Elizabeth and Jane, both of Philadelphia, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and nine nephews and nieces, all of whom he adored. He survived older sister Barbara Jean and brother James.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to https://usguu.org/stewardship/
