Thomas J. Kucera

Thomas J. Kucera, 85, an Evanston, Ill., industrial chemist, died on March 14.

Kucera received a B.S. in chemistry from Loyola University in 1945, an M.S. in chemistry from Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Purdue University in 1953.

Kucera worked for Midwest Laboratory in Chicago and for Charles Bruning Co. in Teterboro, N.J., and Mount Prospect, Ill., helping to develop sensitized forms and paper. He served as vice president for research and development at American Photocopy Equipment in Evanston, retiring in 1981. He then worked as a consultant.

Kucera was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1946. He had been active in the society’s Division of Professional Relations, receiving both its Henry A. Hill Award and Louis J. Sacco Award.

He also served the ACS Chicago Section as chair, councilor, trustee, and director and received its Distinguished Service Award in 1990 and its Public Affairs Award in 1995. Kucera, who used crutches, and eventually a wheelchair, after being involved in an auto accident in 1964, was also active in the ACS Committee on Chemists with Disabilities; he received its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005.

Kucera is survived by his wife, Dorothy; three children, Terry, Beth Allison, and Sharon Harshbarger; and six grandchildren.