William Michael Tarrasky's Obituary
William Michael Tarrasky, 64, of Arcola, VA, passed away on Monday, April 10, 2017.
Bill was born on May 25, 1952 in Milford, MA. He is the son of the late John and Anna Tarrasky.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his paternal aunt and uncle William and Dot Tarrasky.
Bill is survived by his beloved wife of 37 years, Robin Tarrasky, as well as his brother Mike (wife Debbie) Tarrasky of Bellingham, MA; nephew Mikie Tarrasky Jr. of Lacanto, FL, niece Natasha (husband Ryan) Fortier, great nephews: Calvin and Cameron of Milford, MA, maternal aunts: Mary Mark and Ida Kolenda both of Holliston, MA, Lillian Kolenda of Milford, MA, various cousins, brother in law Richard Robbins of Gulf Shores, AL; brother and sister-in law Joseph and Susan Sep of Catskill Mountains, NY, nephew Michael John Rix of Seattle WA, niece Jennifer Sep of Fort Myers, FL, great niece Brianna and great nephew Connor; nephew Joseph Sep Jr. (wife Joanna Golinska-Sep) of Fallsburg, NY and numerous great nieces and nephews, many friends and colleagues.
Bill graduated from Milford High as class Valedictorian and was voted most likely to succeed. He went on to attend University of Rochester on a full Bausch and Lomb Scholarship where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Experimental Psychology and a master's degree in Physics. While in college, laughingly, he started "Yogi airline" for adventure seekers and was a DJ for the University of Rochester radio station.
After graduation, and in order to obtain flight hours, he piloted for sky divers where he met his beloved wife, Robin. Bill also worked for several small airlines, including night freight.
While working for Gannett Corporations' flight department, he had an opportunity to transfer to Arcola, VA where he has been a resident for 33 years. From Gannett, Bill's flight career took off, allowing him to have piloted for Trump Shuttle which then evolved into US Airways. Bill was a member of ALPA (Airline Pilots Association) and eventually retired after 25 years, from American Airlines in 2015.
Bill's great love, other than his Robin, was flying and he was fortunate to have made a career of it. In addition, he enjoyed travelling with his wife Robin and did so with an adventurous spirit. He had a heart of gold and was very generous to all who touched him. Bill also loved the fine machinery of various sports cars and took advantage of driving them whenever possible. Bill's fascination with astronomy took him to other worlds, giving him the nickname "CAPTAIN SCIENCE". His obvious love of photography was evident when viewing his collection of many photographs. We all hope Bill's adventurous spirit prepared him for his next chapter....
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