Tom McLoud, a long-time member of several area canoe clubs and frequent trip leader, passed away suddenly at age 76 on Ocober 3, 2020. He was most active with the Monocacy and Coastals canoe trips and welcomed BRV, CCA, and other clubs' members on his annual Easter weekend Smoke Hole area trips and other adventures.

In 2003, Tom wrote a lengthy report on an epic trip he and four other paddlers from our area did on Quebec's Petit Mecatina River. All survived the adventure but none would repeat it.

[See Tom's trip report]

His obituary appears below

Thomas George McCloud

Frederick Maryland

On Saturday October 3, 2020, Thomas G. McCloud passed away suddenly at the age of 76.

Tom will be fondly remembered by family and varied groups of friends with whom he shared many of his passions. They include his mountain neighbors, colleagues at NIH/Natural Products Lab, fellow enthusiasts of the wilderness, fishing, canoe exploration and antique wooden canoe restoration, and those of us who listened to his stories.

He was born August 23, 1944, in Akron, Ohio to Doris and George McCloud, grew up in Massillon, Ohio, attended Massillon Washington High School, and was awarded Distinguished Citizen Award in 2008. He graduated from Ohio State University, North Carolina State University, and Purdue University. He served his country at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a bio Science Assistant.

Tom had a long, successful career as scientist and researcher the U.S. National Cancer Institute at the NIH/Natural Products Lab where he played a key role in an ambitious effort to collect, process, and extract samples from naturally occurring materials around the world that have contributed to the discovery of many lifesaving drugs and will be used for in the research of therapeutics for years to come. In 2000 he was awarded the Special Science Achievement in recognition of the development of state-of-the-art systems for the plating and rapid dereplication of extraordinary numbers of natural products extract.

Tom was preceded in death by his parents, George and Doris McCloud, and brother Richard. Tom is survived by his sister-in-law Hanna McCloud, Aunt Marilyn Thomas of Orrville, and several cousins in Ohio, Maryland, and Arkansas.

Tom’s ashes will be interred in the family plot at Crown Hill Cemetery in Orrville, Ohio, on Saturday November 21, 2020 at 11am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Tom’s name to the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.