Deceased October 17, 2019

View alumni profile (log-in required)


In Memory

Our DKE brother and friend Tom Bias of Flanders, N.J., died peacefully at home Oct. 17 following a long, courageous battle with prostate cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, Linda Bryk, and daughter, Fiona Kyle. He is also survived by his sister, Nancy Nicholson, and brother, George Bias. Thomas was predeceased by his first daughter, Sarah Bryk-Bias, and his parents, Guy and Wilma Bias.

Tom was born in Tulsa, Okla. His family later settled in Baltimore. He attended the Gilman School and graduated in 1967. Tom then attended Amherst, where he pledged DKE and was elected vice president. He graduated with a B.A. in English literature. His political activism was ignited at Amherst; he tore through the library to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That led him to discover socialism, and he joined the Young Socialist Alliance.

After moving to New York City in 1971, Tom joined the Socialist Workers Party. He later joined the Fourth Internationalist Tendency. He began work as a printer in the typographical trade, where he was a union organizer and a proud member of the International Typographical Union. Later he worked at Arrow Typographers in Newark, N.J., for 14 years, specializing in foreign languages. 

In 2010 he co-developed the Labor Fightback Network. Tom throughout his life was a committed socialist, an organized labor advocate and a peace and freedom activist. In 2014 he became involved in the Episcopal Church. Inspired by his Oklahoma heritage, and by Woody Guthrie, he picked up the 12-string guitar. He sang with the Solidarity Singers of the NJ IUC and was the organist and choir director of St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church. He wrote songs that were a testament to his beliefs and will leave a legacy of hope for the future of the working class.

Fiona Bias and Tony Hom ’71