Robert Thomas "Tom" Silva

Robert Thomas (Tom) Silva, 68, passed away on May 1, 2016. He was a loving husband and a well-known and respected member of the international zoological community. Tom began his long career as Animal Manager at Chico's Monkey Farm in Georgia, and progressed to zookeeper at Crandon Park Zoo in Miami, Zoological Supervisor at Miami Metro Zoo and Animal Care Manager at the San Diego Zoo. He moved to Albuquerque in 1994 to become the Rio Grande Zoo Mammal Curator. There, he climbed the ranks and was Director of the ABQ BioPark when he retired in 2008. Tom's lifelong passion for travel grew with zoo business trips to acquire animals from all over six of the seven continents. He accomplished his life goal to visit all seven in 2012 when he visited Antarctica.
He leaves his beloved wife Ginnie; cherished cousins; and aunt; and many dear friends.
In lieu of flowers, Ginnie requests contributions to The NM BioPark Society, Center for Great Apes or Doctors Without Borders.



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