Susan Sarandon’s brother, Terry Tomalin, suffered a fatal heart attack on Thursday at the age of 55. He was a prominent editor for the Tampa Bay Times, where he worked for over 25 years.
Tomalin was in the middle of a life guard test at the North Shore Aquatic Center in Petersburg, Fla., when he suddenly collapsed and never regained consciousness. He was also spending quality time with his 14-year-old son at the time.
His wife, Kanika Tomalin, said she was devastated upon hearing the news. The two had been married since 1999.
“Thank you to everyone who reached out with love at the passing of my brother Terry Tomalin,” actress Sarandon wrote on her Facebook page. “I will pass on your prayers to his wife and family.”
Tomalin was the second youngest of nine children, all raised in New Jersey. His father, Phillip Leslie Tomalin, worked as an executive for the popular marketing firm Ogilvy & Mather in New York.
The newspaper paid respects to the editor, describing him as “a well known outdoorsman across the state. Boat captains respected him, both for his fearlessness and generous spirit. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Florida.”
“He joked that he could get through life without ever putting on a pair of long pants,” former managing editor Jack Sheppard said. “He smelled like he got up at 4 a.m. and went fishing before work, which he did.”
“Terry personified what it meant to be part of a community,” editor Neil Brown acknowledged his colleague in a statement. “You think of Terry and you think of his stories about the beauty of being alive and taking advantage of living around Tampa Bay. You think of his volunteer work in the community or you think of him routinely taking 40 kids camping. I can’t imagine that I’ve ever been around a more giving, energetic, can-do man.”