Geoffrey Samuel Tobias

Geoffrey Samuel Tobias, a Baltimore admiralty attorney, lifelong sailor, and devoted father and grandfather, passed away peacefully on November 1, 2026, at his home in West River, Maryland. He was 78. To many of his friends, and sometimes to his daughter, he was simply GST.

Born January 26 in Freeport, New York, he graduated from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and earned his law degree from Georgetown Law Center.

Over a legal career spanning more than 40 years, he became one of the nation’s leading admiralty and maritime lawyers. He represented nearly every shipowner whose vessels called at the Port of Baltimore, as well as utilities, marine suppliers, and towing and dredging companies, handling cases ranging from collisions and cargo claims to waterfront development. He also built a respected immigration practice, helping employers, professionals, investors, and families navigate the path to permanent residence and American citizenship. In addition, he defended manufacturers in products liability cases across the country, including as leader of a national counsel team.

He was recognized in The Best Lawyers in America from 2005 onward and named its Baltimore Admiralty and Maritime Law Lawyer of the Year in 2014. He shared his knowledge as an adjunct professor of admiralty law at the University of Virginia and University of Maryland law schools. He also held U.S. Coast Guard licenses as a Second Mate and Third Engineer.

He gave generously of his time to the port and city he loved. His public service included the Governor’s Advisory Committee for the Port of Baltimore, chairing the Governor’s Task Force to Study Driver Licensing Documentation, chairing the Maryland State Bar Association’s Section of International Commercial Law, and serving on the board and executive committee of Sail Baltimore. He was a member of the Tupenny Club of Baltimore and interviewed prospective students for Georgetown University.

The water was where he was happiest. An accomplished sailor, he crewed aboard the 12 Metre Weatherly in the [1969/1970] America’s Cup trials. For years, he kept his Bermuda 40, IceFire, in immaculate condition.

He was meticulous in everything he cared for: his house and grounds, his boats, and an extraordinary model railroad that he built and curated with the patience of an artist. A devoted reader and lifelong learner, he especially loved history. He worked with a genealogist to trace an ancestor, Major Dunbar, a Union officer, to the Battle of Olustee, and walked Civil War battlefields with his daughter, sharing their history in painstaking detail. He traveled widely, from business trips to Japan to the lochs and hills of Scotland, where he navigated Loch Ness with his daughter and son-in-law.

He showed his love by showing up. He was there for squash matches, crew regattas, tennis matches, and graduations. He never let his daughter win at checkers, Battleship, or the game of Life. He never gave her education a second thought, supporting her through The Bryn Mawr School, Washington University in St. Louis, Pratt Institute, and classes at MICA. He edited her papers, answered her endless questions, and took her on Thanksgiving Day photography adventures.

He was the first, after her parents, to hold his granddaughter, Natasha. Few things made him smile like time spent with her, especially their trips to the Strasburg Rail Road and boat rides aboard the Boston Whaler.

He is survived by his daughter, Emily Gwendolyn Tobias, and her husband, Aaron Weidele; his granddaughter, Natasha Madeline Weidele; and his partner, Susan Zevin. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy Dillon Tobias.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Galesville Heritage Society.

Fair winds, Dad.