Alexander Torre-tasso ’62

Alexander Torre-Tasso died of heart failure Aug. 29, 2011, at home in Mount Pleasant, S.C. He had been in ill health.

Alex came to us from The Hill School. Rooming with Ames Gardner and Bill Jarman, he was reputed for his card playing; he ate at Cottage Club. Alex left after junior year, finishing college at Syracuse.

Born in Czechoslovakia in 1940 to a Czech father and American mother, his family was trapped in that country. The family escaped through Switzerland in late 1944 and moved to Cooperstown, N.Y. — his mother’s hometown — in 1945. The European family is related to the house of Thurn und Taxis, founders of the first German post office.

Alex was an investor in small businesses, including a candy distributorship, an artificial-limb company, and a marina. He married during the mid-1960s and had three children. Divorcing in 1989, he moved to Point Clear, Ala., marrying Connie Schmid. They lived on a horse farm before moving to Charleston. While not an equestrian himself, he supported riders and helped on the farm.

The class extends its condolences to Connie; his children, Alex, Louise, and Helen; his niece, Carlynn Houghton ’00; and the extended family.