Tom Warner '75
Memorial 5k Walk/Run
One of Tom Warner’s classmates once remarked, “Tom is LA” and it was true in every imaginable way.
During his three years at Lawrence Academy, the Shirley native left an indelible mark as a student, athlete, leader and friend. After graduating in 1975, Tom attended Amherst College, where he excelled as both a Dean’s List student and member of a championship hockey team.
He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the autumn of 1976 and, after enduring multiple surgeries and an inspired battle with the fates, died on September 25, 1979 at age 22.
Following his death, the Warner family and friends established the Thomas B. Warner Memorial Prize, which is awarded annually to that incoming senior who has demonstrated a remarkable determination to achieve to his or her fullest potential in the classroom, on the field, and in the extracurricular activities of the school.
- The MVP awards given annually to both the male and female Lawrence Academy cross country runners also bear his name.
- In November 1979, Tom’s ashes were spread by family and friends on the apple orchard portion of Lawrence Academy’s cross country course, where he had once set a course record as a sophomore in 1972.
- In 2001, family and friends planted a tree on campus in his name.
- In May of 2010, at what would have been Tom’s 35th reunion, alumni and friends established and participated in the inaugural Tom Warner ’75 Memorial 5k Walk/Run. After the event, many gathered for a memorial service at his new tree, replaced after the devastating ice storms of 2008.
The 4th Annual Tom Warner ’75 Memorial 5k Walk/Run, which benefits his fund, will be held during reunion on Saturday, June 8th at 10:15 a.m. The event will start and finish at Tom’s tree, located behind Faculty Housing just in front of the apple orchard.
Participants are asked to donate a minimum of $25, which includes a commemorative T-shirt and lunch with the reunion gathering. All proceeds from the event go to the Thomas B. Warner ’75 Memorial Fund which supports the prize given annually in his namee.
Those making a donation of $100 or more will receive a copy of Field of Our Fathers, An Illustrated History of Fenway Park, written by Tom's friend and fellow alumnus, Richard A. Johnson '74.
We hope you will join us at this very special annual event!
Please Note: To register for the race and Reunion 2013, please use the link at top
If you are not a Lawrence Academy alumni, or if you are not attending reunion 2013 and just wish to join the walk/run, please call the Alumni Office at 978-448-1574 to register.
