February 2019
In Memoriam, Thomas J. Leidigh, Unsung Hero of Keast & Hood
Thomas J. Leidigh 1924-2019
Only six months after the passing of his co-founding partner Nick Gianopulos, Keast & Hood’s Thomas J. Leidigh, PE, passed away at his home in Southampton, Bucks County on February 3, 2019. He was 94.
Leidigh and Gianopulos, along with Sheldon Keast, Raymond Hood, Jr. and Daniel DiBona, founded Keast & Hood Co. in 1953. After Keast died of natural causes and a tragic plane crash claimed Hood and DiBona, in 1963 Leidigh and Gianopulos, together with new partner, Carl Baumert assumed control of the firm and directed it through the early 1990s.
A thoughtful, practical problem-solver, Leidigh devised creative solutions to even the most complicated design challenges. As a Testament to his creativity, Tom worked with noted architect Louis Kahn on a number of projects requiring demanding engineering solutions. He led the structural design for Kahn’s Philips Exeter Academy Library and Richards Medical Research Laboratories in collaboration with August Komendant. Working with other well-known regional architects, Tom also completed a number of hospitals, academic, and civic buildings, including the Suffolk County Courthouse Complex in New York.
Tom served his country for three years during WWII as a member of the US Army, 102nd Infantry Division. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Drexel Institute of Technology (now Drexel University) in 1949, obtaining professional licensure in 1953. He has been a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Timber Construction, and member and past president of the Engineers’ Club of Philadelphia. Always a mentor at Keast & Hood Co. and elsewhere, Tom taught generations of future architects as an Architectural Department structural critic and lecturer at Temple University’s College of Engineering Technology from 1975 until 1991.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 24th at Southampton Estates, 238 Street Rd, Southampton, PA 18966, at 2:30 PM.
More information is available HERE.