Thomas Peter Tobin only sailed with the SIU for a few years, but the union made a big impression on him.
That much was obvious following his unexpected death on April 28, at age 46. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the Seafarers Disaster Aid Fund (SDRF). In response, Tobin’s friends and colleagues made 35 separate donations to the fund, totaling more than $11,000.
All money collected by the SDRF is used to assist SIU members and retirees living in areas affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters. (The fund is prominently linked on the home page of the SIU website.)
Tobin, who went by his middle name, trained at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Maryland, off and on beginning in late 1997 until early 2000, and he sailed with the union from 1998-2000, most recently as an AB. He passed away from cardiac arrest caused by an undiagnosed cardiomyopathy while exercising in his house in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, New York. A native of Teaneck, New Jersey, who grew up in Pelham Manor, New York, Tobin packed many adventures into his life. He attended the University of Colorado before joining the SIU; his time with the union included the maiden voyage aboard the USNS Bob Hope in late 1998.
According to his obituary, “Peter spent time in some of the world’s most vibrant cities, including San Francisco, New Orleans, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and New York. On his travels, he cooked and sailed, taught English, acquired tattoos, and amassed adventures that he recorded in masterfully descriptive language on the pages of his many journals. Peter’s magnetic personality and fluid adaptability made it easy for him to move among strangers, quickly turning many into friends. His curiosity, sharp wit, and intellect propelled him through the world, in any direction that inspired him.”
He lived in Argentina while teaching English, then returned to New York, where he was a founding member of both Mission Capital Advisors and (more recently) a founder and partner at Three Line Capital, an “active distressed debt principal investor.”
Tobin married Dr. Nora Lansen in 2006; they would actively raise their three children together. He is survived by his parents, siblings, wife and children Ella, Penny and Ryder.
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