NEWBURYPORT — The Custom House Maritime Museum’s flag was flown at half-staff over the weekend as the museum recently lost one of its strongest supporters, Thomas Bartlett “Thom” Gould.
“He will be remembered for his lively sense of humor and capacity for friendship; and for his love of spirited conversation, good music, and good food,” Board of Directors Chair Bob Cronin said, in a message to the Custom House community.
Gould, who passed on Aug. 10 at Kaplan Family Hospice in Danvers at age 81, was a longtime supporter of the museum, most recently serving as Vice Chair of the Board in 2025 and 2026. A gallery in the museum was named after he and his wife, Alice Gould, last year.
Born Dec. 6, 1944 in Newburyport, Gould was a 1962 graduate of Newburyport High School and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Tufts College in 1966. He later received a master’s degree in engineering from Northeastern University.
Following college, he worked for 36 years at Texas Instruments (TI) in Attleboro, holding management positions in reliability engineering, quality assurance, manufacturing, materials management, financial planning and international operations.
For half of his career at TI, he was directly involved with its international operations, which provided the opportunity to have enhanced exposure to the diverse cultures of Europe, Japan, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
It was while in Attleboro that Gould met Custom House Maritime Museum Director James Russell, who at the time was serving as the Attleboro Museum’s director.
“They were terrific supporters,” Russell said, of the Goulds.
Thom and Alice Gould tied the knot in 1968 and spent the next 58 years together until Thom’s death. Following their retirements, they moved to Newburyport, where they have been active in many community groups such as supporting the Custom House.
Russell said he was thrilled to reunite with the couple when he too moved to Newburyport.
“When we reconnected here, it was a very pleasant surprise, and it was a rekindling of a great relationship,” Russell said.
He said he would describe Tom as a “true senior statesman.”
“Certainly Newburyport has lost a great son,” Russell said.
Discussing how he was as contributor to the museum, he said Gould was a consummate gentleman with great intellectual prowess.
“There’s not a room you can go into that you don’t see kind of the indelible mark that both of them have made,” Russell said.
He said Gould’s wisdom is something the museum will miss.
“At meetings, we’d debate a topic, and Thom would sit back and listen to every word, and he wouldn’t say much, but when he did speak, that ended the debate,” Russell said. “I mean, he was always right on point. It was always the right direction to go. It was always true north.”
Describing Gould as a friend, Russell spoke about the side of him not everyone got to see.
“He had a brilliant wit, great sense of dry humor,” Russell said. “He was always fun to be with, and his capacity for friendship and his remarkable ability to be so diplomatic in so many areas is, is something which is just a remarkable talent that he had.”
In his message, Cronin also noted that Gould was an avid baseball fan.
“A little leaguer as a boy and an ardent fan of the Red Sox since childhood, he modeled the T in his signature after that in baseball great Ted Williams’s calligraphic autograph,” Cronin said.
Other volunteer activities Gould was involved in beyond the museum included serving as director and vice-president of the Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Old Newbury and of the Providence chapter of the American production and Inventory Control Society.
Additionally, for many years Thom volunteered to offer tax assistance to senior center clients through the federal VITA program.
In addition to his wife, he leaves his brother, Robert (wife Catherine) of Haverhill; his sister-in-law, Susan Benschneider of York, Maine; his cousins, nieces, and many dear friends near and far.
By Thom’s request, there will be no funeral or calling hours. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Custom House Maritime Museum Endowment, 25 Water St., Newburyport, MA 01950.