- Date Of Death: December 9, 2017
- State: Pennsylvania
Tunc Sozerman was born in Ankara to Cahit and Furuzan Sozerman. He had one older sister, Bilge Sozerman. They grew up together in Caddebostan, a neighborhood on the Asian side of Istanbul. His uncle Sedat gave Tunc the opportunity to attend university in America. Tunc bravely accepted his uncles offer first landing at a small university in Indiana. On a whim, Tunc and his buddies decided to take a road trip from Indiana to Arizona State University. At a pool at ASU he met Cheryl Snavely whom he’d end up marrying and having two boys. He didn’t finish his education in Indiana but instead he ended up at Cornell and earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering. Although he didn’t use his electrical engineering degree per se, Tunc taught himself how to program and became a master at building databases with Access. This skill combined with the hard work and the risks he took as a young man allowed him to lead a successful career as a business consultant. Perhaps seeking a new challenge, Tunc and Cheryl decided to start a family and ended up having two boys Emre (1984) and Erol (1990). Unfortunately, this marriage ended in divorce in 1996 and Tunc as the primary source of income for the family assumed responsibility of custody for his children. Despite all the challenges of raising kids primarily as a single parent, Tunc was still able to enjoy life. He liked spending time with family, friends, and fiercely supporting his boyhood football club Besiktas. An avid traveler, Tunc enjoyed visiting his family and friends back in Turkey as well as vacationing here in the US and also in Europe. He loved cities and after his sons moved out the house, he was able to move to Philadelphia. Within the last couple years, he bought a condo on 24th and South Street. A blank canvas, Tunc was able to make his home to his exact liking. This was a great thrill for him because he had an eye for interior decorating and just loved doing it. He was able to complete this project and the space was beautiful. It was an open floorplan (by design of course) which allowed Tunc to cook and entertain, both things for which he loved to do – His favorite dish to cook was Salmon with lots of dill! Unfortunately, Tunc wasn’t able to spend as much time as he would have liked in his new home. September 2017, Tunc was diagnosed with cancer which completely shocked the family. He did everything he could to beat this disease but sadly on December 9th 2017, on his 59th birthday he passed away. He is now at peace and will be remembered as a great son, brother, man, father, friend, and colleague. We will all miss Tunc dearly.
