Anthony William Sariti

Anthony William Sariti (Tony) of Bethesda, Maryland, passed away July 16, 2025, of complications from Parkinson's disease. Tony was born in Camden, New Jersey January 28, 1943. His parents were Anthony Sariti and Margaret Sariti. He is survived by his wife, Mary Ellen Sariti, a daughter and a son, two granddaughters, and a brother and sister.

He graduated from Delaware Township High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey in 1961 and received a B.A. in Linguistics and Chinese from Georgetown University in 1965 and a Ph.D in Chinese History in 1968. After teaching Chinese language and history at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA for seven years, Tony joined the U.S. Foreign Service (USIA), where he served in Yaounde, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Berlin, Tashkent and Shanghai.

Anyone who knew Tony and his skill in foreign languages would not be surprised to know that he demonstrated an intense interest in language very early. At age 11 he "invented" his own language. From there he went on to study Latin, French and German in high school and "picked up" texts on Chinese and Swahili languages at the Philadelphia Public Library to study while still in high school. He worked on numerous translations and published The Early Revolutionary Activities of Comrade Mao Tse Tung, by Li Jui, from Chinese to English and translated, with an introduction, In The Distant Confines, by Nikolai N. Karazin, from Russian to English.

After retiring from the State Department, Tony became a skilled wood worker. He made and sold a number of furniture pieces using only hand tools. He also made homemade wine and beer, blew glass and crafted boats in bottles.

A list of accomplishments and hobbies can never capture the whole person. Tony's energy for learning and doing was unusual, but his most meaningful attribute was his humility. He never bragged or showed off his abilities, which will be his enduring legacy to all who knew him.

A private memorial will be held in his honor.