Thomas Verska

VERSKA, Thomas Edward

Thomas Edward Verska of Duluth, Georgia, passed away peacefully in hospice after a short illness at the age of 85 on May 29, 2025, with his wife of 61 years, Agnes Verska, at his side. He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul Joseph Verska and Mary Amrick Verska; and his brother, Paul Verska Jr., all of Masontown, Pennsylvania. In addition to his wife, Aggie, Tom is survived by his two sons, David Verska of Cumming, Georgia, and Stephen Verska of Sandy Springs, Georgia; as well as his five grandchildren, Willem, Sophia, Nathaniel, Cecilia and Henry; and Tom's two sisters, Evelyn and Marlene.

Tom and Aggie were high school sweethearts, having met at German Township High School from which he graduated in 1957. By the time they married in a big Catholic wedding in 1963, Tom had his sights set on a life very different from those of their Western Pennsylvania coal-mining families. He had gone to business school and become famously skilled at shorthand and lightning-speed typing. The couple moved to Washington, DC, where Tom had gotten a job at what later became Norfolk Southern Railway. He parlayed his skills into a position as special assistant to the President of the railway, Bill Brosnan, with responsibilities including oversight of the company's corporate retreats including Tom's beloved Brosnan Forest in South Carolina.

Tom and Aggie raised their two boys in Calvert County, Maryland, where they all fell in love with the Chesapeake Bay and its delectable crab dishes. His career spurred him to move the family to Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1980's, and Tom retired from the railway in 1995 after a rewarding career there.

Tom's love of family and friends (old and new) ensured that their lives were always busy with entertaining, outings and trips, and his can-do spirit made him the go-to person in the neighborhood to organize handyman help. He was always the cheerful host, with an easy chuckle or a memory ready to share as he made sure everyone tried his new recipes along with his many delicious standbys. This was never more true than on the annual family vacation to Brosnan Forest, which became a tradition so meaningful that all five grandchildren schedule their summers around it, even as they start their careers. More than anything else, though, he was a devoted husband, father and grandfather – the leader of the "Verska Tribe" who stood for doing the right thing and loving the people around him.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.crowellbrothers.com. Arrangements entrusted to Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes & Crematory, 5051 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092. 770-448-5757.