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Tom Palmatier, devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend to so many, passed away suddenly from cardiac arrest on November 18, 2025.
Tom was born on November 6, 1946, and spent his early years in Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. His family relocated to Maryland in 1955. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and aMaster’s degree from American University, both in mathematics. He began his career at the National Security Agency, where he met Brenda Peeler. Over the course of 34 years at NSA, he rose to the Senior Executive Service and received numerous honors, including the Director’s Distinguished Service Medal and an Invention Award recognizing his Patent for a “Self-Authenticating Cryptographic Apparatus”. His cryptographic designs are still used today in over half of the devices protecting classified information for the US government.
Following his retirement from NSA, Tom joined the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he applied his extensive expertise from NSA to help establish and build a new mission in cybersecurity at APL, which grew quickly to support existing APL missions, including the space program, ships, and health devices. According to his colleagues, Tom’s experience working with people and his professional knowledge made him an invaluable advisor and teacher. He retired a second time in 2015 from APL after 13 years of service. In 2018, Tom and Brenda relocated to Woodhall in Cary, North Carolina, after 47 years in their home in Laurel, Maryland. Tom was a long-time member of the Phoenix Society.