Thomas William Maher, of Arlington, died unexpectedly of natural causes at home on May 29, 2018 at the age of 77 years. Tom was born in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, on Nov. 4, 1940 to parents Olga Frankevich Maher and Thomas Steven Maher. He graduated from Hastings High School in 1958, where he achieved high academic honors and excelled as a baseball pitcher. He went on to earn an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1962 and a graduate degree from Stanford Law School in 1971. Tom served in the United States Navy in active duty from 1962-67, earning the rank of Lieutenant. He continued in the Naval Reserve until transferring to the Retired Reserve in 1986. Tom spent his professional career working for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Before and after retiring from his work with the VA, Tom pursued a passion of volunteer work with Hogar Hispano of the Diocese of Arlington (later Catholic Charities) from 1988 until recently, helping immigrants navigate the complexities of immigration laws. Throughout his life, Tom reached out to help others less fortunate than himself, and gave generously of himself, his time, and resources.
Tom enjoyed traveling the world, including a memorable trip with his sister to their maternal grandparents’ homeland of Belarus in 1995, where they met many relatives. Some more recent excursions were to Egypt, Mexico, Morocco and Algiers. Tom had a particular fondness for Central America, especially Honduras, and the Caribbean Island community and culture of the Dominican Republic, where he visited frequently and had many close friends.
Tom is survived by his sister, Deborah Maher and her two children, Nikki Graham and Jason Chatman and their families of Massachusetts; his former partner and dear friend, Kyle Skov of California; a large extended family of cousins on both the Frankevich and Maher sides; his friend Clare Cherkasky of Virginia; and many friends in the Dominican Republic.
Tom will be buried at sea by the U.S. Navy out of Norfolk, Va.