First Minnesota Twins employee Tom Mee passes away at 88

Longtime former Minnesota Twins employee Tom Mee passed away Friday morning at the age of 88. Mee is regarded as the first employee in the Twins organization.

The team released the following statement on his passing: “The Minnesota Twins are deeply saddened by the loss of Tom Mee, who was widely regarded as the organization’s first employee. A respected colleague, Mee had many roles within the organization, including serving as the Director of Media Relations, a position he held for 30 years. He was a professional who dedicated his life to Twins Baseball. The club, like many of his friends throughout the game, are thinking of his wife Noreene and the entire Mee family during this difficult time.”

Tom Mee began his baseball career in 1957 with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints and was witness to the first Twins game in 1961.  Prior to his retirement in 1991, Mee received the Robert O. Fishel Award for Public Relations excellence in 1988, and was the second-ever recipient of the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Mee was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2013. The Tom Mee Library, located in the Twins communications office at Target Field, was named in his honor in 2010.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in the coming days.