Thomas A. Casey, 77, of Westport, formerly of Little Compton, RI, died in the early hours of Friday, April 8, with family by his side.

Born in Fall River, the son of Thomas W. and Elizabeth P. Casey, he is survived by his wife of 54 years, Virginia (Fonseca) Casey; and his children, Douglas T. Casey, his wife, Christy, and their son, Hunter, of Little Compton; and David T. Casey, his wife, Nicole, and their two children, Eleanor and Dean, of Lincoln, RI. He was the brother of Pauline Thiboutot and the uncle of Karen Trapp, Gerard Thiboutot, Kathleen Satkevich, Ann Borke and Thomas Thiboutot.

After serving as an electronics technician in the United States Air Force in Thailand during the Vietnam War, Tom earned his BS and MS in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

After college, Tom worked as a civilian engineer for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI. During his time at NUWC, he developed a number of underwater acoustic tracking concepts, systems and technologies, and traveled extensively, collaborating with naval engineers from around the world. Toward the end of his tenure at NUWC, Tom temporarily relocated to Hawaii to accept a two-year assignment as Science Advisor to the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet's Submarine Force.

After retirement, Tom entered the private sector, working as an engineer for Mikel Undersea Warfare Systems in Middletown, RI. His greatest achievement at Mikel was the design and development of an innovative underwater "global positioning system." The Submerged Acoustic Navigation System, or SANS, is currently used by the U.S. Navy for precise underwater navigation in a variety of training and tactical at-sea operations.

Besides his job, Tom loved his family, the Celtics, dark chocolate and clamboils. He enjoyed playing tennis and was pretty good at it, too.

Services will be held at a later date. Arrangements were made under the direction of Manuel Rogers Funeral Home, 1521 N. Main St., Fall River, Mass. Please check the funeral home's web site, www.rogersfuneral.com . To send condolences please click on the guestbook below.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The MSA Coalition.