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Joseph J. Zasloff, 89

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Joseph J. Zasloff, 89, of McCauley Lane died Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014, from a brain hemorrhage caused by a fall. Mr. Zasloff was a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, and an expert on the politics of Southeast Asia. Born in February 1925 in Pittsburgh, he was the son of Harry and Anna Shuset Zasloff, Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Bessarabia. He later earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in political science at the University of Pittsburgh, under the GI Bill, then went on to earn a doctorate at the Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales in Geneva. An Army veteran of World War II, he was drafted at the age of 18 and served as a radio operator in Gen. Patton's Third Army. He was wounded in Alsace, France, when, cut off from his unit, he escaped German tanks by running into a cellar and then a barn. He hid for three days until, as he wrote, he "slithered past a parked tank and hobbled several miles to reach our rear echelon." He was awarded a Purple Heart and bronze star with oak leaf cluster for bravery. Mr. Zasloff described his Army service as opening the horizons of his world and inspiring his lifelong involvement in international affairs. His interest in Southeast Asia began in 1959, when he was given a teaching assignment at the University of Saigon. He would go on to become a leading researcher in the politics of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, publishing seven books. He retired after 49 years teaching at the University of Pittsburgh. Up until the age of 39, he described himself as a "lonely bachelor." He met his wife, Tela, on a blind date, and after three dates, they were engaged to be married. This past spring they celebrated 50 years of marriage. After his retirement, they moved to Williamstown, where the family had always spent the summers, together with Mr. Zasloff's oldest friend and colleague, Mac Brown. He loved playing tennis, skiing and having dinner conversations with a close circle of friends. He and his wife enlarged their house to make room for their growing extended family. He suffered from Parkinson's disease but retained all of his intellectual faculties and his generosity, empathy and engagement in the world and in the lives of his family and friends. His family and the world have lost a great man; he will live on in all his acts of generosity and in the hearts of all who loved him. Besides his wife, he leaves four daughters, Anne, Eva, Beth and Karen Zasloff, and eight grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE - The funeral for Mr. Zasloff will be Friday, Dec. 19, at 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Israel, 53 Lois St., North Adams. Burial will be private. The family will receive friends on Friday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the family home at 33 McCauley Lane in Williamstown.
Recollections & Sympathy For the Family
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My condolences to everyone in the family Joe now walks with David RIP peace Joe
from: Richardon: 12-23-2014

My sympathies to your family for the loss of a truly nice and kind man. It was always my pleasure to visit with him. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.
from: Dawn Luskin-Carrieron: 12-22-2014

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