Thomas bloom raskin 25 series#

His mother, Sarah Bloom Raskin, recalled a time the two were driving from their home in Takoma Park to Wellfleet, Mass., shortly after he had graduated from Amherst College. Tommy’s parents and other family members also spoke about their son’s knack for debating. One mom even said it was a turning point in the life of her son,” he said. “We’ve gotten letters over the last few months from parents who’ve told us this is one of the finest things they’ve ever seen a young person do. Jamie Raskin said that as an alternative, his son rounded up the students without dates for a dress-up dinner party at the family’s house, and they ended up going to the prom as a group. “Tommy notices that with all the nervous talk about who’s going with who to the prom, there are some kids that are not part of the conversation,” he said. When Tommy got to Montgomery Blair High School, he wanted to help the kids who didn’t have dates to the prom. He ended up signing a six-page contract to rent out the basement of the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church. Jamie Raskin said that in order to accommodate the 50 kids, he spent an entire afternoon searching for a place to hold the party. “When we were totally shamed by our 5-year-old boy and gave in to the irresistible force of that argument, we had to quickly capitulate to his follow-up argument, which was quickly and enthusiastically endorsed by Tabitha, that we had to invite all the kids in her class, too …,” he said. The original plan was to invite only the boys from Tommy’s class and only the girls from Tabitha’s class, and 24 kids would celebrate in the living room of the family’s house.īut Tommy didn’t want anyone to feel left out and insisted the girls from his class be invited, too, his father said. He said Tommy and Tabitha, whose birthdays are close to each other, celebrated together one year when Tommy was turning 6 and Tabitha 4. On Saturday, Jamie Raskin spoke about his son’s compassion for others, which started at a young age. In an essay a few days after their son’s death, the family wrote that Raskin had been suffering from depression and that it had “became overwhelming and unyielding and unbearable.”

Thomas bloom raskin 25 series#

The service included music and a series of video anecdotes from friends and relatives.Īlso included in the video tribute were clips of Tommy Raskin reciting poetry and engaging in a debate with right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza.

Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), during a drive-in service at RFK Stadium, with attendance limited to invited guests.

“Gentle,” “revelatory,” “earnest,” “enchanting,” “sincere,” and “pure magic” were just a few of the words used to describe Tommy Raskin during a nearly three-hour memorial service in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.įamily and friends remembered Raskin, the late son of U.S.