Thomas Edward Fields

The youngest of three brothers, Tom was born Jan. 27, 1946, in Washington, DC, to the late Raymond and Ferne Fields. Born profoundly deaf, Tom attended Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Mass., from age 4 to 16, along with his brother Mickey. He returned to Maryland in 1962 to attend and graduate from the mainstream Walt Whitman High School, in Bethesda, and went on to attend college.

Beginning his higher education at Franklin & Marshall College, in Lancaster, Pa., Tom transferred after two years to the University of Maryland School of Architecture. He graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree with honors in 1972 and earned his architectural registration three years later. During those years, he met and married his first wife, Kathleen, with whom he had two children, Andy and Sarabeth. They later divorced.

Tom was an active member of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing for many years, meeting his second wife, Barbara, at an association meeting in 1977. They were married in 1980, and together they raised sons Ryan and Aaron in Rockville and then Gaithersburg, Md., until their divorce, in 2004.

During college, Tom worked for the National Park Service, then left the NPS to gain experience working for private architectural firms. He rejoined the NPS in 1975, where he enjoyed a successful 37-year career, making an invaluable contribution to the preservation of historic sites in and around our nation’s capital. First working as a historic architect, Tom’s notable projects included work on the C&O Canal lockhouse restorations, Harper’s Ferry, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, and the White House. He retired in 2012 as a lead project supervisor.

His work took him and his family to California, where they lived in Kings Canyon National Park and Tom served as a project supervisor in the adjacent Sequoia National Park. Returning to the DC area after a year and a half, he worked on several big projects in the region. He spent five months in 1997 commuting to Staten Island, working as a project supervisor on the restoration of a historic building and site at Fort Wadsworth. This was followed by roles supervising the replacement of the White House roof and then restoration of the support facilities at the Jefferson Memorial.

Tom began dating longtime friend Harriet Loeb in 2006. They moved to Boynton Beach in 2011, where they enjoyed biking, playing cards, being part of South Florida Deaf Senior Citizens, and socializing with friends. They married in 2023. An avid traveler, Tom enjoyed taking trips with Harriet, alone as a couple and in a group with their friends; they especially enjoyed cruises. Some favorite trips included visits to Israel, Spain, and Greece. Tom was devoted to their labradoodles Daisy and Cody, and more recently, Sophie. He always called Daisy his “heart dog.”

Along with his membership in the AG Bell Association, Tom served as chair of its Oral Hearing Impaired Section from 1992 to 1994, including as chair-elect and past chairperson, and he served on AG Bell’s board of directors. He volunteered his time and architectural skills to take charge of the rehabilitation of the Volta Bureau, a library for deaf people founded in 1887 by Alexander Graham Bell, which still serves as the AG Bell Association’s headquarters. He was actively involved with the National Association for the Deaf, headquartered in Maryland, and with the Maryland Association for the Deaf.

Tom also served on the board of trustees of the Clarke School for the Deaf, including serving as vice chair. He was very proud of his professional achievements and that Clarke School gave him the tools for that success, and he was passionate about encouraging young deaf students to reach for their goals. Tom was an active member of the Washington Society of the Jewish Deaf; notably, he and brother Mickey, also a deaf architect, handcrafted a beautiful wooden Torah ark for the society; it now resides at Gallaudet University’s Hillel Center. Tom was also an enthusiastic member of South Florida Deaf Senior Citizens, where he enjoyed serving as treasurer for several years.

Always a sports lover, Tom played football, wrestled, and threw shotput and discus in high school and wrestled at F&M. He was a lifelong fan of the DC sports teams, holding season football tickets and catching games, live and on TV, whenever he could. He enjoyed camping and hiking, and in his later years walking, swimming, and playing pickleball. Tom loved working with his hands; a talented woodworker, he crafted treasures ranging from a dollhouse for his young daughter, to a headboard for her wedding gift, to a train table for his grandchildren. He enjoyed making art and going to art museums, and he loved playing games, especially Scrabble, instilling that love and competitiveness in his children from an early age.

Tom was predeceased by his brother Michael “Mickey” Fields in 2014. He is survived by his loving wife, Harriet; his children, Andrew, Sarabeth, Ryan, and Aaron, and their spouses/partners; and 10 grandchildren, of whom he was very proud. He is also survived by older brother Laurence and his wife, Bonnie, as well as extended family and many dear friends. His humor and fun-loving spirit will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Tom may be made to the Washington Society of the Jewish Deaf (wsjdeaf.com) or the South Florida Deaf Senior Citizens (sfldeafseniors.org). Tom’s family thanks you for helping to celebrate his life and legacy in a meaningful way.