Thomas Maxwell Fiske Timberman of Chestertown, MD died on March 18, 2025, at Inova Fairfax Medical Center in Virginia. He was 84.
He was born in Georgia on October 6, 1940, the son of the late Thomas and Virginia Fiske Timberman.
He attended Georgetown University where he earned his Bachelors and J.D. Degree. After finishing law school, he began his career with the Foreign Service.
Tom’s first assignment was in Switzerland, then he went to Vietnam and the Philippines. He continued his service in Norway and Vienna where he worked on the S.A.L.T. negotiations. Later in his career Tom attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He married Judith Lang in 1988.
He was soon off again to take a post in India, spending two years as Consul General in Chennai before retiring. After retirement Tom served as temporary Charge’ d’ affaires in Equatorial Guinea before returning to Washington D.C. Tom and Judy moved to Rock Hall, MD in 1996 and later to Chestertown, MD. In 2005 he worked as a contractor with Deloitte in Afghanistan and Iraq, embedded as a civilian contractor working with the government. He also worked with the OSCE (Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe) in Croatia and Bosnia.
He was a member of Madras Rotary Club in India, Metropolitan Club of Washington D.C., Chevy Chase Club, DACOR Bacon House, Kent County Democratic Central Committee, and ran for Kent County Commissioner. He enjoyed writing and was a longtime contributor to The Chestertown Spy.
In addition to his wife, Judith Lang, he is survived by a sister, Virginia Timberman Callaghan, along with two nieces and a nephew.
A memorial service will be held at a later date to be announced.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Animal Care Shelter for Kent County 10168 Worton Rd. Worton, MD 21678 or https://acskc.org/support/general-donation/
Marguerite Long says
He was such a nice man and so kind. He always sat at the tables outside Evergrain on Saturday mornings and greeted everyone. We will miss him in this town.
Deirdre LaMotte says
We will miss your terrific Spy pieces Tim. You had a well lived
life!!!
Thank you.
Melvin S. Rapelyea, M.D. says
I will miss Tom’s remarkable brilliance about so much related to politics, social happenings and the military. In spite of that gift he was so friendly and helpful. I don’t know what we’re going to do with out our friends brilliance and uncanny sense of humor. God take care of my good friend’s wonderful spirit. I’ll be thinking about him and hoping he’s with me often.
Clara Rankin says
A thoughtful and intelligent man. We’ve lost a good one.
Reid Lohr says
Tom was one of my closest friends and will be truly missed. We worked together in Iraq and Afghanistan and ran a couple of consulting companies specializing in foreign affairs and Decision Support. I had been emailing him for the last couple of weeks but hadn’t gotten a response, which was unusual as he always responded immediately, or we’d have our ‘how to fix the world’ conversations via phone.
I am so sad and will miss my good friend, but at the same time, I am blessed that he entered my life at the perfect time.
I’ll miss him!
Jenifer Emley says
Tom was very special. He was such a bright light, so smart and kind.
I’m very sorry for our loss.