Terrel "T.J." John Sjostrom

T.J. passed away December 16, 2020. He is the son of Rachelle “Liz” Reinitz, and Jack (Mike) Reinitz. He leaves behind his twin sister, Nicole “Nikki” Sjostrom; his older sister, Britney Sjostrom; and the person who kept him going, and lived for, his son, Nolan James Sjostrom. From a young age, T.J. expressed his love of knowledge. By two years old he HAD to watch Jeopardy before going to bed, he would memorize baseball stats for credit in elementary school, and participated in Knowledge Bowls through high school. T.J.’s other love was sports, which started at a young age as well. In kindergarten, it was softball, continuing with baseball, and football over the years, but he enjoyed wrestling the most, which he lettered in in high school. T.J. signed up for the Marine Corps during his senior year of high school, leaving for boot camp just after his birthday in October of 2002. The Marine Corps found his level of intelligence outstanding and sent him to Virginia Beach for intel training to hone the raw skills they saw. T.J. went on to serve three tours during the Iraq War, two in Iraq and one aboard the USS Peleliu, ultimately achieving the rank of Gunnery Sergeant at the time of his separation from the Marine Corps in 2017. T.J. continued his education while in the military, graduating with honors from the National Intelligence University, and was the recipient of the A. Dennis Clift Award for best undergraduate research paper in 2014. This is where T.J. first studied the Russian language, an asset that would be of great value in his future Intelligence/Economic career. T.J. was a single father, who eagerly sought out opportunities to make a better life, not only for himself, but his son, Nolan. T.J. viewed education as the safest way to rise above past circumstances, hence the determination to get his Master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Program, graduating in 2019, and was on his way to his doctorate. Believing this to be true, it was a goal of T.J.’s to set the example for Nolan that education is too important not to obtain. T.J. was an avid reader, and craft beer aficionado. At any available moment, you could find him at the BBQ, or his smoker, planning his next get-together for family and friends. He truly loved having people around and entertaining, as shown by his love of trivia nights and his Fantasy Football league. He loved his Seahawks, Dawgs, and a good night of Karaoke. One might say he was a catalyst of bringing people together, no matter their education, background, and/or interest. With his travel of 48 countries, T.J. certainly made an impact on a lot of lives, not only in his own personal way, but in the way he loved connecting old friends to new friends. Never a stranger or acquaintance with T.J., always a friend. He was adept at adapting to situations (mostly in flip flops) he found himself in, and strived to make the best of every situation with a positive mental attitude. Most would say T.J. had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a penchant for solving riddles, dogged research, and a genuine want to make the country thrive. There was a very large group of people who loved, and will continue to miss T.J. (and miss his bear hugs) in all of his adventures from his Marine Corps family, his John Hopkins family, The Institute for DefenseAnalyses family (where he was currently employed), and the friends he made in his travels through the 48 countries he was able to visit. We have adopted “Doer of Things, and Stuff” in T.J.’s own words, because he was unapologetic for his life, and unconditional with his love, which made him truly a Doer of Things, and Stuff. Services will be held Friday, July 9, 2021, 10:00 a.m. at Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, Washington. A celebration of life will take place Saturday, July 10, 2021, 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. at the family home. Please sign the Tribute Wall to the left, and leave your favorite T.J. story; his mom is gathering all of the stories for a book for Nolan. Should you like to share your story in a more private setting, please email Liz at: [email protected].