Thomas J. Oyster

Class of 1962: Chemistry

Thomas J. Oyster, the nephew of L. Leone Oyster, also devoted his life to teaching chemistry at Ripon College.

He was born Jan. 5, 1940, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At Ripon, he participated in Lambda Delta Alpha/Delta Upsilon. He earned his master’s degree in science at Purdue University. He started his teaching career in Menasha, Wisconsin, and then came back to Ripon.

He also had earned a computer science degree and developed computer systems and software for Green Lake and Princeton high schools where he was the coordinator of computer activities; was the coordinator of academic computing at Ripon College; and also worked for the computer science program at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

As a commercial pilot, he flew businessmen around the Green Lake area. He also was an avid ice boater and enjoyed skiing and hiking in Colorado.

He died Dec. 16, 2024.