A quote, comments and a list of Carl Tamulevich's accomplishments accompanied his photo in the graduation issue of the 1961 Tusitala, the Nashua High yearbook. Tamulevich died last week at age 79.

By the time he graduated from Nashua High School with his Class of 1961, Carl Tamulevich was already in possession of a lifetime’s worth of awards, tributes, athletic accolades and – most importantly – the unbridled respect of his peers, his elders, and so many others who were proud to call him friend.

But that spate of youthful success was just the beginning for the young man who everyone knew as either “Tammo” or “Tammy” from his days as a kid coming of age in Nashua, through a high school career during which he earned a total of 9 varsity letters in three sports, contributed to five state championships, was named to three New Hampshire All-State teams, and was selected Nashua High’s Outstanding Athlete of the Year for 1961.

In 1992, Tamulevich was inducted into the Nashua High School Hall of Fame. In 2019, he and his father, the late Bolic “Bouncer” Tamulevich – a stellar athlete in his own right who passed 50 years ago this month – were named to the Nashua Lions Club Holman Stadium Sports Legends Hall of Fame, along with Carl’s fellow NHS standout and close friend, Frank Ulcickas.

“I had a great love, and respect, for Carl,” Ulcickas said this week, a few days after he learned that Tamulevich, 79, died last Sunday evening at his Annapolis-area home, apparently from complications of a rare form of cancer.

The two soon became fast friends, Ulcickas added, even though “I didn’t really get to know him until we were in 10th grade” because Ulcickas and several other future NHS standouts went to parochial schools through 8th or 9th grade.

(Courtesy photo) Carl Tamulevich, Nashua native and star athlete, who died last week at age 79.

Tamulevich had just retired this spring after a 35-year career as an athletic administrator at his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, where his athletic prowess would manifest itself in a fairly new collegiate sport called lacrosse.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Lori (Herrick) Tamulevich; his son, Jeff; his daughter-in-law, Amanda, who is the widow of his late son CJ; and seven grandchildren: Drew, Madison, Genevieve, Alex, Lauren, Tabitha and Lily Bell.

He is predeceased by his parents, Bolic and Gladys (Poloski) Tamulevich; his brother, Michael Tamulevich; and Michael’s wife, Alice (Lavoie) Tamulevich, who passed July 13.

Services were pending as of Thursday evening. That information will be posted at www.nashuatelegraph.com when it becomes available.

With Tamulevich’s passing, Nashua loses one of its most prominent ties to the most memorable three or four years of the nearly three-decade golden era of NHS athletics, over which the legendary coaches Buzz Harvey (football and baseball), Tony Marandos (basketball and football) and Francis Tate (spring and winter track) presided.

(Photo courtesy of Frank Ulcickas) Nashua High and U.S. Naval Academy standout athlete Carl Tamulevich, left, is joined by fellow NHS and college stars Don Grandmaison, center, and Frank Ulcickas, during a visit about three years ago. Tamulevich died last week at age 79.

“It’s a huge loss … we’ve lost another connection to those great years,” said George Tebbetts, a close friend who stayed in touch with Tamulevich over the years.

Tebbetts, who graduated in 1960, a year before Tamulevich, needs little prompting to share tales and anecdotes from those golden years, most of which stem from his and his teammates’ experiences on the gridiron.

In an era when almost all high school gridsters played on both sides of the ball – meaning on both offense and defense – Tamulevich excelled at both, Tebbetts and Ulcickas recalled.

“Unbelievable fullback … he and Grandmaison were the famous ‘Tammy and Grammy’ backfield,” Tebbetts said.

“I don’t think I ever played in a game that Tammy didn’t intercept at least one pass,” Uleickas said, referring to Tamulevich’s knack for sniffing out the opposing quarterback’s targets and ending more than a few opponents’ drives to the end zone.

Tamulevich’s reputation for picking off passes is even more impressive considering how few passes Nashua and its opponents threw in those days, compared to today.

Although Tamulevich is best known for honing his athletic prowess at the U.S. Naval Academy, he initially enrolled at the College of the Holy Cross – which had offered him a full scholarship.

But after his freshman year, during which he played football against two of his former teammates: Ulcickas, who played for Harvard, and Tebbetts, who was at Cornell, Tamulevich set his sights on the U.S. Naval Academy, and enrolled at its affiliated prep school.

Thus began a remarkable string of athletic accomplishments, perhaps the most noteworthy of which was his mastery of lacrosse, about which little was known beyond colleges and universities in the mid-Atlantic region.

That of course included Navy, which Ulcickas said was almost always in the top five lacrosse schools. So Tamulevich played football and dropped baseball in favor of lacrosse – and never looked back.

Twice named a first-team All-American in lacrosse, in 1967 and ’68, Tamulevich was awarded the Theodore C. White Award, given to a player who exhibits “spirit, morale and well-being,” according to the Naval Academy, which paid tribute to Tamulevich in announcing his death on its website.

In 1968, his graduation year, Tamulevich won the Schmeisser Award, given to the best lacrosse defenseman in the country. He was named to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1989.

After graduating, Tamulevich went to flight school in Florida, then underwent training at Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas.

He flew the Navy’s Lockheed P-3 Orion, an anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft, according to the academy.

Among his assignments was tracking Russian nuclear ballistic submarines operating off the East Coast.

In 1985, Tamulevich was named the exeuctive officer for the academy’s physical education department, and two years later became deputy director of athletics under then-athletic director Bo Coppedge.

He became senior associate athletic director in 1992, serving as the sports administrator for the men’s lacrosse and gymnastics programs and the women’s soccer program, according to the academy.

Current director of athletics Chet Gladchuk remembered Tamulevich as a “mentor and role model to all … who touched the lives of so many in such meaningful and influential ways throughout his life.

“We are heartbroken to lose our cherished friend and distinguished alumn,” Gladchuck wrote, adding that “our fond memories of Carl – his laugh, humor, personality, professionalism and kindness – will always be ingrained in the lives of those who were fortunate to know him.”

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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