CHICOPEE - Thomas E. Nallen, 90, of Chicopee, was called safely home on Saturday, August 17, 2019. He passed into Eternal Life at the Renaissance Manor on Cabot in Holyoke surrounded by all the memories he loved and cherished. He was born in Holyoke on December 17, 1928, a beloved son of the late Thomas E. Nallen and Luce C. (Monchamp) Nallen. He was raised in the Aldenville section of Chicopee, graduated from Chicopee High School and was a lifelong resident of Chicopee. Tom served his country during World War II in the United States Marine Corps and attained the rank of Corporal. He served in China as a Radar Operator at Nan Yuan Air Field and Peiping and received the World War II Victory Medal. Following his military service, Tom returned to Chicopee and was employed for 37 years at Western Mass Electric Company, later, Northeast Utilities and retired in 1985 as a Supervisor of Telecommunication Test. Tom was a proud member of the China Marine Association. He was a Youth Football Coach for the 38ers and Saint Patrick School in Chicopee. Tom was an entrepreneur, inventor and innovator and founded the Dyna Kite Company. He was an aviation historian and lecturer and was instrumental in producing a documentary entitled “Those Incredible Gee Bees”. He published model airplane designs and was inducted into the Flying Aces Club Hall of Fame. He was a longtime communicant of the former Saint Patrick Church in Chicopee and currently a communicant of Sainte Rose de Lima Church in Aldenville. Most of all, he was a hardworking man who loved his family and his many friends. He leaves his beloved wife, Lillian M. (Comfort) Nallen. They were married on May 30, 1953 at Saint Thomas Church in Palmer and were blessed with over 66 years of happiness together. Besides his wife, he leaves his three loving children, Susan N. Bialas and her husband, John, of Auburn, Thomas E. Nallen 2 and his wife, Margo, of North Andover and Michael A. Nallen and his wife, Linda, of Hampden; his seven cherished grandchildren, Johnny and his wife, Sibel, Jess, Leigh and her husband, Mark, Karen and her husband, Ewan, Joe, Samuel and his wife, Jaimie and Miles; and his extended family members. His funeral will be held on Wednesday morning, August 21, 2019 beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Aldenville Chapels, (413-532-9806), 13 Dale Street, Chicopee, MA 01020 (funeral home will open at 9 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in Sainte Rose de Lima Church, 600 Grattan Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. His burial with US Marine Corps Military Honors will follow the Mass at Saint Patrick Cemetery, 168 Fuller Road, Chicopee Falls, MA 01020. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The parking lot and main entrance are located in the rear of the funeral home at 20 Lafayette Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. For those who prefer, memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Boulevard, Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057 or to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517. For more details, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com