Thomas Vangel Vassil

From Seamus Heaney, The Cure at Troy

We are heartbroken to announce that our husband/father, Tom Vassil, passed away peacefully at home on January 19th, 2022 at the age of 91. Beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother, friend. Also, professor, avid newspaper reader, writer, beach lover, swimmer,

poetry citer, expert waffle maker , storyteller extraordinaire, champion napper, nursery rhyme writer, chemistry whiz, peace maker,

deep thinker, sage advice giver,

fighter…

There are not enough words to describe what he was to us.

Tom was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 7th 1930 to parents Kile Stevens and Vangel Vassil. As a youth, he was active in the Albanian Orthodox Church and an avid swimmer, baseball, and hockey player.

After earning a BA and an MSW from Boston University, Tom worked with the youth in the Mystic River Housing Project in Somerville, Massachusetts. As a testament to his skill and dedication, the kids with whom he worked honored him decades later in a gathering in which they credited him with “giving us back our lives.”

While working in Somerville, Tom met his wife, Toyoko Sakamoto, who worked part time in the housing project as she completed her MSW at Boston University. Tom and Toyoko (“Toy”) married in 1965. In 1968, their daughter Kristina was born.

Tom left Boston in 1969 to undertake a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. His eldest son Andrew was born in the same year. Post graduation, he worked on the faculty at Western Michigan University from 1975 to 1979. His youngest son Jonathan was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1977. In 1979, he accepted a position at the University of Maryland, where he worked until his retirement in 2007.

Since retirement, Tom enjoyed reading widely, going to the gym, writing, and annual trips to La Jolla, California. He treasured time spent with his five grandchildren, Emma Kate, Evan, Anna Lee, Grace, and Jane. When at home, we often found him sitting peacefully in quiet contemplation.

In January 2022, Tom faced his diagnosis with courage and dignity, imparting to us words that we will never forget.

We end with an adaptation of Lord Byron’s The Prisoner at Chillon, which Tom quoted while in the ICU. The poem may mean different things to different people, but for our father it was about transition. He changed the final phrasing to one that suited him better. We feel that the change symbolizes who he was.

In quiet we had learn'd to dwell;

My very chains and I grew friends,

So much a long communion tends

To make us what we are:—even I

Regain'd my freedom with a smile.

(sigh)

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Tom is survived by his wife Toy; daughter Kristina; sons Andrew (Deborah) and Jonathan (Jennifer); grandchildren Emma Kate, Evan, Anna Lee, Grace and Jane; brother Bill Vassil (Judy); sister Virginia Doyle, and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.

A burial service will take place at 1pm on Saturday February 5, 2022 at Columbia Memorial Park, 12005 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville, MD 21029. A memorial service will be held later in the spring.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.witzkefuneralhomes.com for the Vassil family.