OWLS HEAD — Thomas Appleton Plaisted, 91, a professional engineer, died March 2, 2014, at his home in Owls Head. He was the son of Sheridan and Louise M. Thomas Plaisted of Waterville.

Tom was an Oakland native, graduating from local schools and earning his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Maine in Orono in 1945.

He worked for several years in Rochester, N.Y., at the Eastman Kodak Company, where he met his wife, Ruth. After returning to Maine, Tom was employed by the S.D. Warren Paper Company, which was subsequently purchased by Scott Paper. Tom retired after 31 years with the company, where he served as senior project manager as well as maintenance manager.

Tom was a member of the Professional Engineers Society as well as a life member of the Maine Association of Engineers. In 2012 Tom was inducted into the prestigious Francis Crowe Professional Engineering Society at the University of Maine.

An enthusiast of classical music, Tom enjoyed playing the piano. With a life long interest in building boats and boating, Tom enjoyed sailing the coast of Maine on his beloved Fleet Wings, a Herreshoff sloop that he constructed. He was also partial to Friendship sloops. He was a skilled wood worker, having built numerous ship and yacht models, as well as making nautical wood carvings. Tom volunteered at the Owls Head Transportation Museum as he was specifically knowledgeable regarding steam engines.

Tom was a 50-year resident of Falmouth while spending summers in Owls Head, where he owned and operated rental cottages on Dodge Point. In 2002 he relocated permanently to the Plaisted Lighthouse Road Homestead, which has been owned by his family for more than 110 years.

He was predeceased by his wife, following 53 years of marriage. Tom is survived by his niece, Dawn Plaisted Swinton of Owls Head.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 7, 2014 at 2 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland. Interment will be in the family plot at Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterville.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations maybe made to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841.