Thomas J. Wajda, a career U.S. Foreign Service officer who in retirement pioneered lavender farming in the eastern United States, died Oct. 15, 2019 of complications from Parkinson’s disease at home in Frederick. He was 78.
Born one of 10 children on his family’s dairy farm in northeastern Ohio, Mr. Wajda joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1963 after receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science from Youngstown State University.
He worked in consular affairs in Iran and Afghanistan before volunteering to serve as a refugee advisor in Tay Ninh Province during the Vietnam War.
After returning from Vietnam in 1970, Mr. Wajda completed the Harvard Trade Union Program, then served as labor attach
in Senegal and New Zealand. His professional travels during this period also included Papua New Guinea and Antarctica.
In 1979, he earned a master’s degree in science and technology policy from The George Washington University. His later career included postings to France and Canada and key contributions to negotiations around the International Space Station and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mr. Wajda retired from the Foreign Service in 1995.
In retirement he returned to his farming roots when he and his wife Madeline founded Willow Pond Farm, a certified organic herb farm in Fairfield. Inspired by visits to farms in traditional lavender-growing areas in Provence, France, and the northwestern United States, the Wajdas focused on the challenge of cultivating lavender in the rocky soil
of Pennsylvania. They later founded the annual Pennsylvania Lavender Festival, the first event of its kind in the mid-Atlantic, hosting this popular regional event until 2015.
Willow Pond Farm was a labor of love for Mr. Wajda. There he grew more than 100 varieties of the lavender, including three cultivars he developed: Madeline Marie, Rebecca Kay, and Two Amys. He delighted in sharing his knowledge, including in a self-published lavender gardener’s guide and in lectures and garden tours. Many who encountered him
enjoyed his dry sense of humor and wit and were quickly converted to friends. He will be deeply missed.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Madeline Lyle Wajda; three children and five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by three sisters and three brothers.
A funeral and celebration of Tom’s life was held November 2 at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 106 W. Church Street, Frederick.
In lieu of flowers, the family has established the Thomas J. Wajda Foreign Affairs Scholarship at the Youngstown State University Foundation, 655 Wick Avenue, Youngstown, OH 44502.
