Thomas Eugene Zava passed away at 9:30 Tuesday morning, Sept. 10, at Park West Medical Center.

He was born in Victoria (Lunenburg County), Va., on Sept. 16, 1922. Tom’s parents immigrated from Europe in the early 1920s, and Tom held the distinction and privilege of being the first in his Albanian family to be born in America.

Tom graduated with honors from Victoria High School in 1940 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Richmond in 1944.

Tom was a veteran of World War II. He received his basic training in Camp Barkley, Texas, and Medical Corp training at Ft. Benjamin Harris, Ind. He then received secret orders to report to the Manhattan District, Special Engineering Detachment in Oak Ridge. He was the only serviceman selected from the state of Virginia to serve in the SED.

In 1984, Tom retired from K-25 after 40 years of service in chemistry and analytical labs as a technician and supervisor throughout K-25. [Read more…]