Thomas Zbyszewski
Thomas Zbyszewski, a Whitman College junior, was one of three firefighters who died in the line of duty on August 19 while serving on a five-person Forest Service engine crew battling the Twisp Fire in Okanogan County.
Please leave any memories you have of Tom or messages of condolences for his family below.
Dear Zbyszewski family:
I have pulled up this form for wishing condolences for the third time and realized that I was stopped cold each time with the magnitude of your loss. Any thing that would be said does not begin to cover the time, love, and energy parents like you have devoted to a son like Tom or the hole left behind in his passing.
I know that the parent and families of the class of 2017 are all affected even if it is only to be reminded that there is only the here and now for loving each other as we go through the ritual of separation as the school year starts again.
As you go through this time of grief and mourning it is my hope that you will feel loved and supported by the Whitman community and its extensions. I think the seeds that Tom sowed by his presence at Whitman will come forth over time. Some day the charred landscape of grief will be like the forest recovering after a fire with pioneer plants pushing up through the rubble and fresh growth making a new landscape. It may be invisible to the eye but clear to the spirit.
We are all very sorry for your loss.
Sincerely,
Karen