Algimantas “Al” Vasiliauskas, of Williamsburg, Virginia, went home to the Lord on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025, after a long battle. He was a warrior who fought from the moment he entered this world.
Born in 1945 in Augsburg, Germany, he escaped genocide to build his very own American Dream. His unparalleled work ethic and sharp mind led him to graduate from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1963 and the United States Naval Academy in 1968, where he was an All American soccer player and record holder whose name still appears on the walls of the Hall of Fame. Before enrolling at Navy, he attended the prestigious Pratt Institute for the 1963-1964 academic year, back when Pratt offered degrees in both the arts and engineering. He topped off this distinguished academic career with an Executive MBA from Loyola in Baltimore in 1980.
A proud graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Al devoted his public and private life to serving others. After returning home from Vietnam, he built an equally impressive career and family. While his career was unparalleled–from Project Engineer to Plant Manager to COO to President–his most impressive achievement was his family. Every chance he got, he celebrated his wife and three daughters to whom he devoted everything.
While he was always the smartest person in the room, he never made anyone feel small. He was a man of action who solved every problem he encountered. In crisis and in calm, Al was always the first call, especially for his beloved wife and daughters. Dear Melanie and the girls, as he called them, considered him their greatest support and the center of their world. They will be lost without him.
His time at the Academy was the beginning of his American Dream. He knew graduating from Navy was the perfect way to show his gratitude for the country and classmates who saved his life in more ways than one. Like his lifelong USNA classmates and friends, he was willing to give his life for this country back in 1968, and while he lived a long and beautiful life after his discharge, he ultimately succumbed to disabilities tied to this service, one that ended on July 1st, 1971. During this time, he proudly served in the engineering department aboard USS Lofberg (DD-759) in the Western Pacific and, upon decommissioning of Lofberg, was assigned to the 7th Fleet, Logistics Support staff, Yokosuka, Japan. A serious injury forced him into an early yet honorable discharge as a Lieutenant.
Even though he earned a degree in engineering, he had the opportunity to take a minor in the Liberal Arts. He relished in this opportunity, choosing literature–one of his greatest loves–as his. At the time he wasn’t aware he’d raise two English educators and another daughter with a degree in the Liberal Arts. A selection from the final poem of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, “Little Gidding,” will be recited at his cremation service. His favorite poet’s characteristic balance of beauty and pain, of heaviness and release, of light and darkness, of peace and war is a perfect way to capture Al’s passing and these long days, months, and years that will follow. It’s a gutsy choice, but Al wouldn’t have had it any other way.
He met his beautiful spitfire of a wife Melanie in 1974 in Baltimore, Maryland. While he wasn’t the type to go on blind dates, he took a risk that came with a lifetime of reward. The two of them are far more alike than many know. Their courting process took years–five, in fact–ultimately culminating in their marriage in 1979. Melanie’s beloved of 51 years, Al brought out her pragmatism, something even she hesitates to acknowledge. They were a perfect balance of logic and emotion, one that allowed them to pass both intelligence and empathy on to their girls.
He took every opportunity to brag on his, or the, girls, terms he used interchangeably. No matter where he went, people knew his daughters. His proudest moments were watching all three of them graduate from college with Honors, two of them graduate from graduate school, and all of them receive the highest of accolades, including memberships in the Cum Laude Society and Phi Beta Kappa and a Marshall scholarship and PhD from Emily Kate. Perhaps his favorite part of all of these was that with his help, they all graduated without debt. While he expected nothing less than their best, it wasn’t because he didn’t love them; it was because with his whole heart, he did. He believed they could do anything, and he would say they have. All three of them have since built successful careers, ones that reflect who each one of them has become but also the parts of their father they all share.
From the moment he met Melanie, he shared the magic of standard poodles with his family and friends. Not surprisingly, he was smitten with these complex creatures who bridge the gap between animal and human. His partner in crime, Bach, the poodle he adopted a few years after coming home from Vietnam, was the beginning of a lifetime of poodle love and companionship. Because of Bach, his ‘68 USNA classmates Doug Bomarito and Robert “Bob” Webb also adopted many poodles of their own, continuing Al’s legacy of sharing love and meaning with others. Bach, Al’s poodle while he dated Melanie, was not only the first reason she fell for Al, but he was also the ringbearer in their wedding, the silly boy whom Doug and Bob had to rescue when he ran away on their fateful wedding day in 1979.
In addition to his dear wife Melanie, daughters Emily Kate, Lydia Alice, and Audra Elaine, sharp-witted and strong-willed standard poodle, Victor, three beautiful grandchildren, Ingrid, Alfred, and Isaac, and two grandpoodles, the wise gentleman Oliver and the sassy little Lilly, he leaves behind a dear sister, Laima, in Philadelphia; beloved USNA classmates and friends, including real estate partner Doug Bomarito, roommate Edward Kratovil, fellow soccer stars Denny Blair, Tom Teach, Glen Reid, and Denny Dugan, and the steadfast John O’Neill; the surviving members of the USNA men’s soccer teams from 1964-1968; and numerous colleagues and confidants over the years. These include Tracy Nester, Jennifer Hudson, and Brian Allder, all of Roanoke, Virginia, as well as Butch Houseknecht of Maryland. He was preceded in death by his parents, Kazys and Vanda Vasiliauskas, as well as his best friend and Academy classmate Robert Webb. Numerous poodles went first to lead him to his final home. And lastly, he leaves behind the compassionate, skilled, and dedicated doctors at the Salem, Hampton, and Richmond VA Medical Centers and their community partners throughout Virginia, all of whom were instrumental in granting Al his only wish: to have more time with his family.
