• Willow

    Thomas Andrew Willow [PW’81]  

    May 8, 1963 - July 22, 2023 (Age 60)

    Tom Willow sadly passed away on Saturday, July 22, 2023, while awaiting a heart transplant at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He had just turned 60.

    Tom was born on May 8, 1963, in Wiesbaden, West Germany to James Davis Willow and Elena Dorothea König. Having a father in the U.S. Air Force who was later employed by McDonnell-Douglas/Boeing, the
    family moved relatively often in those early years, but finally settled in Ballwin, Missouri, home for over 40 years. All three sons, of which Tom was the eldest, graduated from Parkway West.

    His appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was cut short by a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma, the treatment for which ultimately played a role in his later health issues. Alternatively, Tom attended Kansas State University and received a degree in Interior Architecture, which allowed him to fully embrace his ever-present Wanderlust. From Dallas to D.C., Hong Kong to Munich, L.A., London, and Amsterdam. Tom finally ended up in California where he built his dreamhouse in Rancho Mirage, just outside Palm Springs. He recently set into motion his plan to return and retire in the small community of Kastelruth, in the Italian Alps, where he originally met Beatrix (“Trixi”), his wife of 25 years. Sadly, those plans were not to be.

    Tom is survived by his wife Trixi, daughter Elena Maria Willow, mother Elena Dorothea Willow, and brothers Mark and Alexander. Formal services are not planned, but those seeking Tom will find his spirit at rest on The Schlern, a mountain of the Dolomites in South Tyrol, Italy.