Thomas Keith Rew, veteran, volunteer extraordinaire

Thomas Keith Rew, 79, of Lewes, passed away Saturday, March 28, 2026. He was born Oct. 12, 1946, in Baltimore, Md., the son of James Rew and Katherine (Byrnes) Rew.

Tom, as he was known, spent his youth in Baltimore until joining the U.S. Army as a Specialist 5 for a two-year deployment in Germany. After his discharge, he was a member of the Maryland National Guard, 135th Fighter Wing. Tom attended the Community College of Baltimore County and University of Baltimore.

He spent a major part of his career as a manufacturing representative with Thomas Manufacturing Associates for clients that included T.C. Mirafi in Atlanta, Ga. He was a devoted husband of 49 years to Barbara, and they enjoyed travel to Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico. Tom had the mechanical know-how to restore and repair many of the antiques that Barbara sold through her business. He was always a reliable presence at her antique shows – setting up, packing up, and cheering on the sidelines.

Tom could also be found at car shows, picnicking on sunset evenings at Lewes Beach with Barbara and his dog, Lucky, and in line for a Casapulla’s sub. Tom was a prince of a fellow who lit up a room with his warmth, kindness and friendly banter. A positive attitude was his modus operandi. His niece, Lauren Carpenter, said, “Uncle Tom made friends wherever he went.”

He was also a volunteer extraordinaire in the Lewes community during the 10 years he lived here after moving from Baltimore. Tom was a member of Lewes Presbyterian Church Soup Kitchen; Lewes in Bloom; Humane Animal Partners in Rehoboth Beach; Lewes Historical Society; a past member of the board of directors of Lightship Overfalls; and a member of Overfalls “Dirty Hands Gang.” In addition, Tom was one of four volunteers to travel round trip with the Lightship (LV118) to dry dock in New Jersey Nov. 29, 2017. 

Tom is survived by his wife, Barbara; his brother, George; sister-in-law, Kathi Carpenter; nephew, Jeremy Carpenter; niece, Lauren Carpenter (Fernanda Tornaghi); nephew, Stephen Marshall; and grand-nephew, Josh Marshall. Godchildren include Tara Thompson, Amie LeRoux and Travis Cofiell.

Donations may be made to Lightship Overfalls, overfalls.org/join-support-us/financial-donations; and Humane Animal Partners in Rehoboth Beach, humaneanimalpartners.org/give/give-now.