Dominique Thayil

Dominique Michelle Bustamante Thayil, from New Market, MD, died on Aug. 2, 2017. Dominique, who was 41, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, after a courageous six-year battle with breast cancer.

Dominique was born at the US Naval Base in Yokasuka, Japan on September 13, 1975. She attended Hayfield High School before receiving her bachelor’s degree from Hood College in 1998, and then a Master’s of Education from Walden University in 2007, as well as a School Administrator Certificate from Towson University in 2014. She married Jonathan Thayil on July 25, 1998, in Herndon, VA.

Dominique spent seventeen years as a middle and high school teacher in Maryland and New York. She started her teaching career at Frederick High School, in Frederick, MD, and finished her wonderful career at Governor Thomas Johnson High School, also in Frederick, MD. In 2012, she was honored with the Golden Patriot Award from Thomas Johnson High School. She was passionate about teaching science and loved the students she taught. She felt strongly about saving the environment for future generations, and firmly believed that education was second only to love of family.

Dominique touched many lives with her energy and caring spirit, she was a trusted friend, and many looked up to her as a role model and mentor. She was loved by many, and returned that love to everyone she met.

Dominique enjoyed soccer, 80’s music, and her favorite movies were Zorro: The Gay Blade, Grease, and The Princess Bride. She helped start and for three years captained the Hood College Women’s Soccer Team. In 2009, she was inducted in to the Hood College Athletic Hall of Fame. Forever the competitor, she regularly played indoor soccer with a wonderful group of friends; the team aptly named Sporting Mammary. Dominique loved the beach and was thankful to spend two weeks with her toes in the sand just before passing away. Most of all, Dominique adored her family, especially her two children, who were her whole world.

She is survived by her loving family; husband Jonathan, two children Emma, and Kelman, and their dog Auggie; parents Capt. and Mrs. C.J. Bustamante; sister Sally Anderson and husband Greg; their children, Sarah Tzomides and her husband George, and Stephen Anderson; brother Joseph and wife Riza, their children Joshua and Iza; plus many loving cousins, aunts, and uncles.

A memorial service will be held at Jackson Chapel United Methodist Church in Frederick, MD on Sunday, August 6, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. Reverend Jennifer K. Smith and Reverend Ernest W.P. Thayil will conduct the service. A Celebration of Dominique’s life will be held following the service at the Whitaker Campus Center on the Hood College campus in Frederick, MD beginning at 3:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations/gifts to Amy Bartholomee at 441 Edgewater Road, Pasadena, MD 21122. All donations/gifts will be used to establish an account for Emma and Kelman and their costs for college, as education was so important to Dominique.