Thomas Michael Tolliver Niles (Tom) of Stamford, Connecticut passed away on April 30, 2025 at the age of 85.

Tom was born on September 22, 1939 to John Jacob and Rena Lipetz Niles in Lexington, Kentucky. Tom attended Westtown School in West Chester, Pennsylvania before attending Harvard University where he graduated in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in history. Tom later earned a master’s degree at the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce in 1962.

Tom’s 37-year career as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer began in 1962. After completing Serbo-Croatian language instruction at the Foreign Service Institute. Tom’s first posting was in Belgrade, Yugoslavia from 1963 to 1965. Tom then returned to the United States, spending two years in the Soviet Union Affairs office at the State Department before being posted to Garmisch, Germany for Russian language studies. Tom then served as an Economics Officer in Moscow from 1968 to 1971. After his tour in Moscow, Tom’s next assignment was to the U.S. Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission from 1971 to1973 before moving back to Moscow where he served as the Director of the U.S. embassy’s Commercial Office from 1973 to 1976.

Tom and his family moved back to the United States in 1976 and settled in Washington, D.C. After one year at the National War College, Tom took up a series of assignments at the State Department culminating in his appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, a position he held from 1981 to 1985.

Tom was appointed by President Reagan to serve as Ambassador to Canada in 1985, making him at the time the youngest career foreign service officer in U.S. history to be posted as an ambassador to a major nation. In 1989, he was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to serve as Ambassador to the European Community. In 1991, Tom returned to Washington, D.C. where he served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs until 1993. Tom was then appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve as Ambassador to Greece, where he served until 1997.

In 1997, Tom returned to Washington, D.C. where he served as President of the National Defense University until 1999 when he retired from the Foreign Service. Tom then took a position as President and Vice Chairman of the United States Council for International Business, serving in that capacity from 1999 to 2005.

Tom is predeceased by his parents, John Jacob and Rena Lipetz Niles of Lexington, Kentucky and his wife of 48 years, Carroll Ehringhaus Niles of Charlotte, North Carolina. Married in 1967 after an 11-year extended courtship, Carroll was at Tom’s side throughout his long career while also raising a family and keeping up a series of beautiful homes with her inspired sense of style and décor.

Tom is survived by his brother, John Edward Niles of Silver Spring, Maryland, his son John Thomas Tolliver Niles and wife Whitney Berkebile Niles of Glen Rock, New Jersey, his daughter Mary Chapman Walker Niles and husband Jacob Racusin of Montgomery, Vermont, five grandchildren (Elijah, Naomi, Micah, Harry and Jake), and his loving companion of recent years, Nancy Lane, also of Stamford, Connecticut. Tom’s life was also blessed with his many beloved animal companions over the years: cats Alice, Simba, Pippa, Pumpernickel, Bean, Sparkle, Meatloaf, and Jack and dogs Buckwheat and Atlas. Tom’s unwavering faith in his soon being reunited with his parents, Carroll and his animals imbued him with courage, strength and grace during his final days.

Tom enjoyed being outside, whether jogging, biking, walking, working in the garden, mowing a lawn, or feeding the fish at the local pond. He was also an avid tennis and squash player in his earlier years. He also loved reading books and newspapers, and his weekly talks on international relations were consistently well attended by fellow members of the Edgehill community and others virtually via the power of the internet.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Tom’s memory to Harvard University, the University of Kentucky, or St. John’s Episcopal Church in Stamford, Connecticut.