Tomonobu Manabe

Tomonobu “Tom” Manabe, 97, passed away on September 4, 2026, in Blue Bell.

Tom was born to Japanese parents in 1929 in what is now North Korea. He grew up in a farming village in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, where he hunted and fished in the local mountains to help feed his family. His love of nature, the mountains, and the outdoors persisted throughout his life.

Highly intelligent, he skipped a grade in school and enrolled in the prestigious Japanese Naval Academy. He went on to Kyoto University, where he earned a B.S. in physics and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering. He read widely on a range of interests, including ancient Chinese history, archaeology, and natural history, as well as mystery novels and current events.

After graduation, he joined Nippon Rayon as a research scientist, where he wrote award-winning articles on polymerization and melt-spinning that laid down the early mathematical foundations of synthetic fiber formation, with applications for the nylon and vinyl industries. The company also had lasting implications for his personal life, when he fell in love with and married the daughter of the plant manager.

Tom had an independent streak. He took his advanced research on the road to the U.S., where he was impressed by the bright lights of Times Square, big cars, and thick beef steaks. When Rohm and Haas offered him a job in the U.S., he did not hesitate to move his wife and two small children there. The family lived in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. His work took him on business trips around the world to Europe, Latin America, and Asia, from which he brought back souvenirs including dolls, jewelry and musical instruments.

Later in his career, he took another chance in moving overseas, this time to India where he helped Modipon develop its synthetic textiles business. He enjoyed his decade as an expatriate in New Delhi, where he derived deep satisfaction in engaging in the work and imparting his knowledge to the next generation of engineers in the business. He lectured and reviewed Ph.D. theses for the Indian Institute of Technology.

Tom was plain-speaking man of few words. He had few pretensions and simple tastes. He liked nothing better than his wife’s home cooking and working tirelessly in the yard of his beloved Blue Bell home.

Tom is survived by his two daughters, one son, and one grandchild.

In accordance with Tom’s wishes, a private family funeral will be held at Shaeff-Myers Funeral Home, followed by burial at Whitemarsh Memorial Park, both in Ambler.