Thomas Eugene Vachon

Tom Vachon, 73, of South Tamworth, NH died February 21 at Mountain View Community in Ossipee, NH after a long struggle with pulmonary disease and heart failure.                Tom had a lifelong love of newspapers. His involvement started in high school where he was business manager of the Exonian, the student newspaper of Philips Exeter Academy. Starting in 1987, he was the owner and chief developer for Merrimac Software Associates, where he built an intricate management system tailored to small and mid-sized community newspapers. He loved traveling to clients in big cities and out-of-the-way towns across the country, working with the owners and employees of local papers to streamline their operations.                In college, Tom worked with the Harvard Dramatic Club, mostly as a producer. He met his wife Kate during rehearsals for The Playboy of the Western World at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, MA. He spent time in professional theater, doing props, lighting and business management for companies in Cambridge, Washington, DC, Durham, NH and Hartford, CT. He spent several years as a management consultant and business manager in magazine publishing in New York City, then returned to his first love when a Brooklyn neighbor and newspaper owner asked him for help with her computer systems.                Thomas Eugene Vachon was born April 24, 1943, in Middletown, CT to Cecile and Eugene Vachon. After Eugene’s death, Tom grew up in Manchester, NH, with his mother and her husband Alfred Pushee, and his sisters Mary (Pushee) Watkins of Chocorua, NH and Joan (Pushee)  Gatto of Ashland, MA, both of whom survive him. He graduated from Philips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, and earned a masters in speech and dramatic art from the University of Iowa. He is also survived by his wife of 53 years, Kate (Colborn) Vachon of South Tamworth; his son Eugene Vachon, daughter-in-law Vicki  Vachon and grandson Oliver of Los Olivos, CA; and his daughter Cindy Vachon, son-in-law Loring Harrop and granddaughters Rachel and Alexandra of Minneapolis, MN.                Baker-Gagne Funeral Home in Ossipee handled Tom’s cremation. To sign an online guest book or leave a note for the family, go to baker-gagnefuneralhomes.com.                A celebration of Tom’s life will take place in early summer.                To remember Tom, please make a contribution to the Tamworth Community Nurse Association, tamworthnurses.org or P.O. Box 352, Tamworth, NH 03886; Gift of Life New England, www.golne.com or 290 Edgewater Drive, Needham, MA 02492; your local public radio station; or the organization of your c