"The Magliozzi brothers grew up in a tough neighborhood of East Cambridge, in a close-knit Italian family. Tom was 12 years older, the beloved older brother to Ray. They liked to act like they were just a couple of regular guys who happened to be mechanics, but both of them graduated from MIT.

"After getting out of college, Tom went to work as an engineer.

"One day, he was on his way to work when he had a near-fatal accident with a tractor-trailer. He pulled off the road and decided to do something different with his life.

" 'I quit my job,' he [told graduates at a commencement speech at his] alma mater in 1999. 'I became a bum. I spent two years sitting in Harvard Square drinking coffee. I invented the concept of the do-it-yourself auto repair shop, and I met my lovely wife.' "

Doug Berman ended his message, "Please note that the Magliozzi family is asking that in lieu of flowers, friends and listeners make a donation to either the Alzheimer's Association or their favorite public radio stations in Tom's memory. It's just one more gift to us from a guy who gave so much to our network and its listeners over the decades."