Thomas C.T. Brokaw

Thomas Clarkson Taylor Brokaw, 77, died on June 4, 2023 at home surrounded by his family. Devoted to native plants and ecological restoration, Brokaw created a private nature preserve in Kennett Square and Avondale, Pennsylvania, served on the boards of conservation and arts organizations, built fine miniatures, and was known for his linguistic abilities, broad knowledge in the humanities and science, and financial acumen.

Tom Brokaw was born in 1945, in Wilmington, Delaware to Howard Pyle Brokaw and Mary Ann Taylor Brokaw. As a boy, he lived in New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, and Ohio. He attended the Tower Hill School, the Hotchkiss School, and Alexis I. DuPont High School, graduating from A.I. DuPont in 1964. After high school, Tom excelled at Outward Bound and became an instructor at the newly founded National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. During the Vietnam War Tom was a “roof rat,” serving aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1966-67. He capitalized on his Navy service with memorable leaves in Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. After the Navy Tom attended the University of Delaware, earning two bachelor’s degrees, in Art History and in Civil Engineering.

He married Margaretta Starrett Bredin in 1976. Living in Kennett Township, Tom and Margaretta assembled 297 acres of land and dedicated it to nature conservation, establishing the private Bucktoe Creek Preserve. Tom worked with local environmental organizations and land trusts to develop nature education, establishing trails and perches for hawks and hosting numerous nature study and birding programs. He could often be found planting trees or tramping about with a backpack of bricks for exercise. Tom served on numerous boards, including the Delaware Art Museum, the League of Conservation Voters, and Defenders of Wildlife. He was an expert modeler and miniaturist, including ships in bottles and exquisite miniature, furnished rooms of 18th- and 19th- century houses, now in museums. Tom was a linguist, studying and speaking French, Spanish, German, and Italian, the last his favorite tongue. He was a walking encyclopedia on most subjects and was curious about everything, from the quotidian to the obscure. Simultaneously, Tom was mischievous from birth and loved a clever joke. He had great capacity for recognizing and relishing the absurd. He loved to travel and enjoyed the satisfaction of accomplishing dreams, including walking around Mont Blanc and reaching its summit in 2000. Spur-of-the-moment adventures appealed as much as meticulously planned trips; his last great adventure was a spontaneous road trip to Mont-Tremblant, Quebec where he delighted in speaking French, eating poutine, and skiing and wrestling with his rambunctious granddaughters.

Tom is survived by his wife, Margaretta, of Kennett Square; daughters Margaretta Brokaw and Phoebe Brokaw Davidson; siblings Nicholas Brokaw, Jeffrey Brokaw, and Chloe Brokaw Heimbuch; and two granddaughters.

There will be a memorial in September.

In lieu of flowers, consider a gift in Tom’s memory to the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, the League of Conservation Voters, the Delaware Art Museum, or your local land trust.

The family would like to acknowledge their friend Carly Abbott, a professional photographer, who provided the photograph for this obituary.