Anthony Cecil Plaisted

Always Active, Always Moving, Always Fixing Things

 Tony Plaisted was born in Wales in 1929. He grew up between the wars in the Welsh city of Newport, where he fostered a love of music, singing and Chemistry. Wales is a nation of beautiful voices, and Tony honed his tenor voice early on in the church and school choirs while learning to play the piano. He was an avid lover of classical music, and encouraged all his children to appreciate and play music.

 After World War II, he served his national service in the Royal Air Force for two years, before qualifying as an Industrial Chemist and member of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (now the Royal Society of Chemistry). He developed and patented many chemical products which have helped landmarks stay in place, including Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, the commercial docks in Athens, Greece, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in Pennsylvania and the tunneling system of the Washington DC Metro.

 It was his work in tunneling and keeping “things up” which brought him to the United States to work in the mining and tunneling industry in 1975 with his wife Jill and daughter Clare. His two other daughters from a previous marriage, Helen and Katrina, stayed behind in the UK.  Tony, Jill and Clare moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where his son Tom was born. After six years the family moved to the heart of the coal industry in Lexington, Kentucky where he headed up the research and development lab of a major mining and construction company. 

 Tony was always very active in two particular hobbies - cycling and table tennis. He won several state cycling medals and many more national table tennis titles. Tony also loved watching sports and was an avid soccer fan, supporting Arsenal Football Club and watching Wimbledon every June.

 When he retired from work at the age of 68, Tony went back to university to fulfill another of his dreams by earning a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation, where he applied his knowledge of “keeping things up” and fixing things to old buildings and landmarks while building a consultancy offering expertise in tunneling and stabilization.

 Tony and his wife Jill were married for 46 years and moved to Bel Air seven years ago. They have six grandchildren – Niamh, Lucy, Harry, Eva, Dylan and Sally.

Family & friends will honor and celebrate Anthony's life at the Evans Life Celebration Home-Bel Air, 3 Newport Drive (Rt. 23 & Rt. 24), Forest Hill with a Receiving of Friends on September 7, 2019 from 10-11 A.M. with a Memorial Service beginning at 11:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Lung Association, Donation Processing Center, P.O. Box 7000, Albert Lea, MN 56007.

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