In Memory

Thomas Szalay

Thomas Szalay

Tom Szalay (1948 - 2018)

Obituary

Thomas Eugene Szalay, 70, of Everett, WA, passed away peacefully on August 11, 2018 surrounded by his family. Tom was born on the United States Naval base in Guam on May 12, 1948. Son of the late Joseph and Noma Szalay, Tom is survived by his loving spouse of 42 years, Lynn, and their son, Scott (Elise), daughter, Traci (John) Townsan and granddaughter, Brooklyn Townsan. A lifelong resident of the Pacific Northwest, Tom graduated from Edmonds High School, Class of 1966, and the University of Washington in 1970 and then worked as a Seattle Firefighter. Tom was always the life of the party and loved life. He enjoyed traveling with his family including trips to classic car shows with his treasured mint condition 1964 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport. He was someone you would want on your team when playing trivial pursuit with his vast knowledge of music, movies, history, and sports. Tom and Lynn's international travel included trips to New Zealand, Australia, and Antarctica where he was first in line to take the polar plunge in the ocean off Antarctica. Tom was a lifelong sports fan, playing football at Edmonds High School and Shoreline Community College before transitioning to rugby at the University of Washington. Tom continued playing rugby until the birth of his daughter in 1981. He was a lifelong fan of the UW Huskies, Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners. He shared his love for sports with others by coaching his kids youth baseball and basketball teams. In 2015, Tom and Lynn completed their quest to attend a baseball game at all 30 Major League Baseball parks. A celebration of Tom's life will be on Saturday, August 25, 2018 at Tom and Lynn's home in Everett at 3:30pm. Friends and family are welcome to join in the celebration of Tom's life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Tom Szalay to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America at: www.alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/ or Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 8th Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001.