Eugene H. Thommen Jr., an aviation electrician who worked on the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, died on Oct. 9 at the University Hospital in San Antonio, Tex., of complications from a head injury sustained during a fall. The longtime East Hampton resident was 82.
After graduating from East Hampton High School in 1955, Mr. Thommen joined the Navy, serving as an electronics technician on the U.S.S. Tarawa and U.S.S. Wasp aircraft carriers. He later worked at Grumman Aerospace Corporation, where he was part of a quality control team for the Apollo 11 mission and the development of the F-14 Tomcat, a supersonic fighter jet.
In 1974 he began working for Suffolk County, serving as a sergeant assigned to the county sheriff’s office, a park ranger, and a court officer during his 23-year career.
Gene Thommen married the former Shirley Bonesteel in 1981, and the couple lived in Aquebogue. They moved south after both retired, first to Bedford, Va., where they were members of the Morgans Baptist Church, then to Mico, Tex. She died in 2015.
Mr. Thommen was born in Sag Harbor on April 11, 1937, to Eugene H. Thommen Sr. and the former Arlene Daniels. Before he married and moved to the North Fork, he was a volunteer member of the East Hampton and Springs Fire Departments. In his spare time, his family said, he enjoyed building and operating model trains, and was a ham radio enthusiast.
He is survived by five children, Merrilee Jones of Keystone Heights, Fla., Lorrilee Gorman of Boynton Beach, Fla., Robert Thommen of St. Cloud, Fla., Daniel Connors of Gainesville, Fla., and Jennifer Thommen of Murfreesboro, Tenn. He also leaves a stepdaughter, Patti Finch of San Antonio, and a stepson, Jim Finch of Mico. Two sisters, Denise Morgan Scott of East Hampton and Darlene Liquore of Garwood, N.J., survive as well, as do 12 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. His siblings Arthur Thommen, James Thommen, Joyce Flanagan, and Diane Pfost all predeceased him.
A memorial service and celebration of life, officiated by Pastor Greg Knippa, will be held on Oct. 26 at the Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home in Castroville, Tex. Burial will be at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, at a date to be determined.
The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, 3152 Little Road, Suite 146, Trinity, Fla. 34655, or Fisher House Foundation, 12300 Twinbrook Parkway, Suite 410, Rockville, Md. 20852.