Age - 27; Russia, Moscow.

My dear son, my loving boy, who was beautiful, talented, kind, and loved by everyone, was born on May 19th, 1975, and died in the very bloom of his years.  He loved life so!

 In 1992 he finished the intensive English language school, then later the Moscow State University of Ecological Engineering (formerly called ‘MIXI’) in the college of chemical and biological technology, and as a graduate student he worked at Techno-vacuum.  He published several scientific papers.

 He was a surprisingly multi-faceted person.  Besides a complete knowledge of English, he studied French and was very well read in literature.  He also knew and loved philosophy and history.  Back as a schoolchild he participated in regional and city Olympiads in history, and took first and second places.  He was well acquainted with English and Scottish poetry, and read them in the original.  While at the institute, and as a grad student, he taught in English, physics, and chemistry to upper classmen in an affiliated school, and helped support our family in difficult times.

His passion was sailing and yachts.  In the summer he worked as a trainer in sailing at the student yacht club and took part in competitions.

 
He had no enemies.  At the memorial service, which they held at the institute, everyone came: friends, faculty, and the directors of the firm where he worked, as well as a multitude of students and teachers.  The spoke about him, recalling what a person Sasha was, and unanimously called him a boy of the sun.  He was an example of goodness, sympathy, and a source of love and joy for all around him.
 

Written by his mother, G.A. Tolmacheva.   

In sailing Sasha liked absolutely everything, and all kinds of sailing vessels.  He never came out on a ready ship - he loved to take an ancient boat and fix it up himself.  This made him able to figure out everything related to sailing.  He loved to pass on his knowledge to students and got great pleasure and entertainment from this, and for this they loved and honored him.  Sasha never lost his self-control or self-confidence in any situation, and he passed this example on to his students, on how to find a way out of the most difficult situations.  

 It was so easy and free with him that it was as if he was only another graduate student.  Those of us who were his friends and on his yacht team always felt his benevolence and desire for peace and order in our group.  You could always depend on Sasha.  All the yachtsmen at our base loved him, sometimes even exploiting his kindness and wish to assist (the girls especially).  Sasha had an absolute feel for justice.  He felt that his words and deeds would reflect on his comrades, and so he acted accordingly.  One must add that Sasha was a cheerful fellow; he loved and knew how to relax and enjoy himself.  He always found some interesting matter for the group in order to entertain everyone.

 During his last summer Sasha had a bad scooter accident, he had to take a heavy blow in order to prevent his passenger from being hurt.  At the same time, however, he had to make a yacht seaworthy.  He came to the base on crutches and worked just as hard as everyone else.  It was very hot, but since he could not go swimming with us because of his cast, we poured water on him from a bucket.

Here it has been five summers without Sasha.  We had so many plans about future sailing trips down our unique Volga and its wonderful little cities.  It is such a shame that they were never meant to be!  Our life on the yacht has changed irreparably.  No one and nothing can replace Sasha – we miss him so, and we are always remembering him.  Everyone can still see the results of his work all around.

Everything on our yacht reminds us of him, including his personal things and a memorial tablet that carries the new name of our yacht: Sanych.  We wish to use this name on the yacht to remember Sasha.  We love him and will treasure the memory of this bright and unusual person forever.

Written by the Alexander Tolmachev yacht team:  Yevgeny Adamov, Igor Bogomolov, Olga Poplavskaya, and Oleg Surguchev.

Comments (6)

Write Comment
Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code.
Name:
E-mail
Homepage
Title:
BBCode:
Comment:
Code:*
	I wish to be contacted by email regarding additional comments

Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved