Thomas J. A. Tirion, 77, of Annapolis, MD and Reading, PA passed away January 15, 2018 surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of Mary Diana Tirion.

Born in Holland, he was the son of the late Johan A. and Sophia C. (Verwey) Tirion.

As a five year old child in Holland just after D-Day in 1944, Thom recalled being lifted onto an American tank by a U.S. soldier and given a Hershey chocolate bar while he watched Allied planes flying overhead dropping bundles of food. From that day forward he was fascinated by America.

After serving in the Dutch army, working in Austria and Holland in the boat business, attending business school at the Schoevers Institute in Holland and language studies at Cambridge, Thom signed on to sail in the Fastnet Race around the British Isles and later to the Newport-Bermuda Race as a crew member. He joined the National Geographic crew to do a story on Sable Island.

In 1965 he became Export Manager of Trojan Boat Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, winning the Presidential E award for excellence in exporting. In 1970 Thom started his own import-export business in Reading, Pennsylvania, specializing in importing the Banjer sailboat from Holland and the Moody yacht from England. His sales experiences allowed him to travel to many countries in Europe, the Mid East and South America. With his son Alex in 2007 he traveled to Tanzania to spend time helping to build a school. He worked up until his death, along with his daughter Angela, in the importation of a specialty sealing tape.

He was an avid gardener, planting tulips and daffodils anywhere possible. He enjoyed sailing, traveling, hiking, tennis and photography. He was fluent in three languages.

Most important to his life were his wife Diana, son Alex and daughter Angela, and his special daughter-in-law Amy and son-in-law David - all of whom he cherished. He was filled with joy upon seeing his grandchildren, Eva and Aria Tirion and his grandsons, Alexander and Nicholas Lee. He is also survived by his brother, Jaap Tirion; two nephews, Michael, husband of Suzan Tirion; and Jeroen, husband of Mirjam Tirion. His life was filled with goodness and charity toward others, with gratitude at being able to live in America, coupled with great pride in and devotion to his own country, with supreme love for his wife Diana, and with courage during and at the end of a long illness.

A Celebration of Thom's Life will be held Saturday, April 14, 2018, at 10 a.m. in Christ Episcopal Church,435 Court St, Reading, PA 19601 with burial to follow at Charles Evans Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in honor of Thom can be made to Hannah’s Hope Ministries, 300 Church St., Reading, PA 19601 or Project Zawadi - https://projectzawadi.org. Edward J. Kuhn Funeral Home Inc., 739 Penn Ave, West Reading is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be recorded at www.kuhnfuneralhomes.com.