SARASOTA — Tom Minnich, who devoted the last 15 years of his life to improving life in the greater Englewood area, died Sunday at Doctors Hospital following a brief illness.

Minnich, 84, retired from a lengthy career as a pharmacist and moved to Englewood from Pennsylvania in 1980. He got involved in neighborhood and regional associations and even dabbled in local politics. Then in 1997 the county did an assessment on the stormwater basin of Forked Creek near where he lived. It gave his life a sharp focus.