Thomas Mowlds, a certified public accountant and Navy veteran, died of heart failure Saturday at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center. The longtime Timonium resident was 79.

Thomas Mowlds was born in Baltimore and raised on Havenwood Road in Old Original Northwood. He was the son of Kenneth Mowlds, a chemist and owner of Maryland Pigment & Research Corp., and his wife, Bernadette Diamond Mowlds, a businesswoman.

After graduating in 1958 from City College, he earned a bachelor’s degree in three years in biology from Gettysburg College.

He entered Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., where he was commissioned as a naval ensign in 1961. Mr. Mowlds, an engineering officer, served aboard the destroyer escort USS Albert T. Harris during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Mr. Mowlds saw duty during the Vietnam War aboard the destroyer USS William V. Pratt and the amphibious assault carrier USS Princeton.

While serving on the Princeton in 1969, his ship took part in the recovery mission of the Apollo 11 capsule off the Hawaiian Islands. He also participated in classified activities in the Pacific while aboard the USS Thor, a cable layer and repair ship.

Discharged in 1971 with the rank of lieutenant commander, he returned to Baltimore and entered the University of Maryland, College Park, where he received a bachelor’s degree in 1974 in business, and passed the certified public accountant examination.

After working for several accountants, he established his own accounting firm in the basement of his Timonium home, said his wife of 59 years, the former Carolyn Cochran.

Mr. Mowlds, who had not retired, was still preparing taxes at the time his death.

He earned a pilot’s license and flew out of Martin Airport. “But business was his life,” his wife said.

Mr. Mowlds was a member of Towson United Methodist Church.

Plans for a memorial service are incomplete.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Tommy Mowlds of Timonium; two daughters, Marian Mackenzie of Bel Air and Kathleen Abou Bakr of Owings Mills; two brothers, Kenneth Mowlds of Houston; and Don Mowlds of Sacramento, Calif.; and seven grandchildren.

— Frederick N. Rasmussen